Assessing the performance of a bdelloid rotifer Philodina acuticornis odiosa acute toxicity assay.

A bioassay using the bdelloid rotifer, Philodina acuticornis odiosa, was evaluated for use as a standard test method for direct toxicity assessment testing in the Australasian region. Philodina acuticornis odiosa was found to be relatively tolerant to phenol (24 h LC50, 142 mg/L). The mortality endpoint was both reliable and repeatable (the coefficients of variation for mortality at the 24 h LC50 concentration ranged from 11%-24% (n = 8)), sufficiently low to warrant further testing with a range of reference toxicants, so that this organism can be included for use as a regulatory test in Australasia.