Chronic aquatic toxicity of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) to Ceriodaphnia dubia, Chironomus dilutus, Danio rerio, and Hyalella azteca

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) is a ubiquitous and persistent contaminant in aquatic ecosystems. Chronic toxicity information for aquatic organisms is limited, therefore we conducted chronic PFOS toxicity tests for four model organisms commonly used for freshwater toxicology assays: Chironomus dilutus (midge), Ceriodaphnia dubia (water flea), Hyalella azteca (amphipod) and Danio rerio (zebrafish). The 16-day survival test with C. dilutus resulted in the lowest PFOS exposure concentrations to cause significant impacts, with reduced survival at 1 µg/L, a LC50 of 7.5 µg/L, and a growth EC10 of 1.5 µg/L. D. rerio was the next most sensitive species, with a 30-day LC50 of 490 µg/L and reduced growth at 260 µg/L. Effects for C. dubia and H. azteca occurred at concentrations a thousand-fold higher than for C. dilutus. H. azteca had a 42-day LC50 of 15 mg/L, an EC50 of 3.8 mg/L for reproduction (neonates per female) and an EC50 of 4.7 mg/L for growth. C. dubia was similarly tolerant of PFOS, with a 6-day LC50 of 20 mg/L for survival and an EC50 of 7 mg/L for reproduction (neonates per adult). H. azteca, C. dubia, and, to a lesser extent, D. rerio, appear tolerant of PFOS concentrations typically found in the environment. However, in agreement with previous studies, C. dilutus was particularly sensitive to PFOS exposure, with lethal and sublethal effects occurring at concentration levels present at highly contaminated sites.