The impact of endosulfan pesticide toxicity on the growth of Daphnia magna

Abstract

The crustacean D. magna is used in many scientific researches as a model organism for testing the toxicity in the aquatic environment because of its unique features such as easy to identify and easy to control toxic substances, wide distribution, and quick reproduction under the form of parthenogenesis in a short time. This study aims to assess how the toxicity of endosulfan pesticides affects the growth of D. magna. The pesticide endosulfan belongs to the group of organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs), a persistent organic substance group, which is capable of causing endocrine disruption, affecting the nervous system, causing adverse effects on the internal organs, and causing other dangers for human. The endosulfan concentrations which were selected in this research varied from 0 (control) to 0.5 µg/l to study. After a 48h exposure, the highest death rate of the D. magna was 97% at the concentration of 0.5 µg/l. The LC₅₀ value recorded at 48 hours was 0.129 µg/l.