Individual- and population-level effects of antibiotics on the rotifers, Brachionus calyciflorus and B. plicatilis

The toxicity of three common antibiotics (streptomycin sulfate, tetracycline hydrochloride, and tylosin tartrate) to the freshwater rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus and brackish-water rotifer B. plicatilis was investigated using full-lifespan exposure durations. Effects of each antibiotic on lifespan, lifetime reproduction, and Malthusian parameter were assessed at seven nominal concentrations (ranging from 5.6 mg l−1 to 2,000 mg l−1) and a negative control. Lowest Observed Effect Concentrations (LOECs) were determined for reproduction and lifespan, while 1%, 10%, 25%, and 50% Inhibitory Concentrations (IC1, IC10, IC25, IC50) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for all three endpoints. LOECs ranged from 5.6 mg l−1 to 90 mg l−1, with all LOECs less than 90 mg l−1 occurring in B. calyciflorus. The lowest IC1 concentrations were 3.91 mg l−1 for the effect of tetracycline on lifetime reproduction in B. calyciflorus and 4.06 mg l−1 for the effect of tylosin on lifetime reproduction in B. plicatilis. Overall, lifetime reproduction was the most sensitive endpoint and the Malthusian parameter was the least sensitive. IC1 values for lifetime reproduction were roughly one to two orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding IC50 values.