• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 2005

Benthic amphipod, Grandidierella japonica widely inhabits the Korean coastal waters and is developed as a standard test species for sediment toxicity tests. We exposed G. japonica to various pollutants including 4 kinds of inorganic metals (Ag, Cd, Cu and Hg), tributyltin [TBT], ammonia and 7 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds (acenaphthene, chrysene, fluoranthene, fluorene, naphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene) to estimate the no observed effect concentration (NOEC) and the median lethal concentration (LC50) of each pollutant during the 96-hour acute exposure. Among all tested pollutants, TBT was most toxic to G. japonica, and Rg was most toxic among inorganic metals. The toxicity of pyrene to G. japonica was greatest among PAH compounds, followed by fluoranthene, phenanathrene, acenaphthene, fluorene and naphthalene. The toxicity of PAH compounds was closely related to their physico-chemical characteristics such as $K_ow$ and water solubility. G. japonica responded adequately to pollutant concentrations and exposure durations, and the sensitivity of G. japonica to various inorganic and organic pollutants was generally comparable to other amphipods used as standard test species in ecotoxicological studies, indicating this species can be applied in the assessment of environments polluted by various harmful substances.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2005

A series of experiments were conducted to develop standard test organisms and test protocols for measuring sediment toxicity using candidate amphipods such as Mandibulophoxus mai, Monocorophium acherusicum, Haustorioides indivisus, and Haustorioides koreanus, which are indigenous to Korea. The relevant association of test species with sediment substrates was one of the important factors in sediment bioassay. The indigenous amphipods M mai and M. acherusicum were well associated with test sediments when they were exposed to various sediment substrates from sand to mud. The tolerant limits to various physico-chemical factors affecting bioassay results such as temperature, salinity and ammonia, as well as sensitivities to reference toxicant and contaminated sediments, were investigated using M. mai and M. acherusicum in the present study. These amphipods were tolerant to relatively wide ranges of salinity $(10{\sim}30\;psu)$ and ammonia (<50 ppm), and displayed relevant sensitivity to temperature as well. They are more sensitive to Cd, the reference toxicant, when compared to the standard test species used in other countries. Field-sediment toxicity tests revealed that M. mai would be more sensitive to sediment-associated pollutants than M. acherusicum, while the sensitivity of M. acherusicum was comparable to that of Leptocheirus plumulosus, which has been used as a standard test species in the United States of America. Overall results of this first attempt to develop an amphipod sediment toxicity test protocol in Korea indicated that M. mai and M. acherusicum would be applicable in the toxicity assessment of contaminated sediments, following the further evaluation encompassing various ecological and toxicological studies in addition to test method standardization.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2005

A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the effects of temperature on the survival, growth and sensitivity of the benthic amphipods, Mandibuluphoxus mai and Monocnrophium acherusicum, which have been recently developed as new sediment toxicity testing species in Korea. The biological performance for each amphipod species was determined by the survival and growth rates at different water temperatures. The influence of temperature on the sensitivity to reference toxicant, Cd, was determined by the comparison of survival rates of amphipods exposed to control and Cd-spiked seawater at different temperatures. Temperature significantly influenced on the survival, growth and Cd sensitivity of both amphipods. Tolerable ranges of temperature for the >80％ individuals of both M. mai and M. acherusicum with sediment substrates were mostly overlapped (13 to 22℃). The daily growth rates of M. mai and M. acherkisicum increased proportionally with temperature up to 20℃ and 25℃. respectively. Similarly, the sensitivities of M. mai and M. acheyusicum to Cd increased with temperature up to 20℃ and 15℃, respectively. Overall results showed that temperature is a substantially important factor potentially influencing the results of lethal and sublethal bioassays using the amphipods. Therefore, defining the adequate ranges of experimental temperature for the toxicity testing species is the pre-requisite for the development of standardized bioassay protocols.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.147-155
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• 2008

A series of experiments were conducted to find standard test organisms and to develop test protocols for sediment toxicity tests using indigenous amphipods inhabited in Korean coastal environments. The indigenous amphipods Mandibulophoxus mai and Monocorophium acherusicum were well associated with various sediment substrates from sand to mud. The tolerance limits to various physico-chemical factors affecting bioassay results such as temperature, salinity and total ammonium as well as the sensitivities to contaminants in water and sediments were investigated using M. mai and M. acherusicum in the present study. These amphipods were tolerable to the adequate ranges of salinity ($10{\sim}30\;psu$), temperature ($10{\sim}25^{\circ}C$) and ammonia (<50 ppm). They have relevant sensitivities to the reference toxicants, dissolved cadmium as well as other metals and organic pollutants, when compared to the standard test species used in other countries. Field-sediment toxicity tests revealed that M. mai would be more sensitive to sediment-associated pollutants than M. acherusicum, while the sensitivity of M. acherusicum was comparable to those of other sediment test species in other countries. Overall results of this first attempt to develop an amphipod sediment toxicity test protocol in Korea indicated that M. mai and M. acherusicum should be applicable in the toxicity assessment of contaminated sediments, following the further evaluation encompassing various ecological and toxicological evaluation and the standardization of test method.