Toxicity of waters from two streams to early life stages of brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario L.), tested under semi-field conditions

The development of brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario L.) in water of two differently polluted streams and in a control situation was monitored in order to get insights into the impact of anthropogenic chemical stressors on the reproductive success of this fish species indigenous to both streams. The test streams, situated in the south of Stuttgart, Germany, were the complexly polluted Körsch stream and the less polluted Krähenbach stream. Bypass systems connected to the streams and a laboratory control system were used for continuous exposure of early brown trout stages shortly after fertilisation up to the end of the embryonic development. Temperature and oxygen conditions were standardised in all test series in order to minimise unspecific effects. The examined endpoints were: (1) mortality, (2) developmental rate, (3) time course of hatching, (4) malformations, and (5) growth. A retarded development, reduced growth rates and higher mortality rates of Körsch stream water exposed embryos indicated an embryotoxic potential for the more polluted stream. High infection-related mortality rates of embryos suggested the presence of confounding factors also in the less polluted Krähenbach stream. In parallel to the exposure experiment, physicochemical and limnochemical parameters as well as concentrations of organic contaminants and heavy metals were monitored. Analytical data confirm the different degrees of pollution of both streams.