Acute Toxicity of Cadmium on Ophelia bicornis Savigny, 1822

Static bioassays to assess acute toxicity of cadmium on Ophelia bicornis were first time conducted. Organisms wereexposed to the different concentrations of cadmium for 24, 48, 72 and 96-hr. The LC50 values for 24, 48, 72 and 96-h with95% confidence limits were estimated by the probit method and were found as 26 (22.8-29.4), 18 (15-22), 12 (9.1-14.4) and7.2 (6.8-7.5) mg/l for Group 1 (15 and 25 mm in length) and 28 (24.6-33.8), 24 (22.4-25.5), 18 (16.1-19) and 8.7 (7.8-9.6)mg/l for Group 2 (26 and 36 mm in length), respectively. Toxicity of Cd was dependent on concentration and exposure time.LC50 increased with increasing the length of organisms. Mortality of O. bicornis was increased by Cd concentration andexposure. Results showed that O. bicornis was sensitive to cadmium.