Interactive Toxicity of Aluminum and Acidity to Early Life Stages of Brook Trout

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Abstract
The influences of exposure to aluminum and increased acidity on mortality, growth, behavior, and biochemical responses of brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis were evaluated as a function of developmental stage. Eyed eggs and young brook trout were exposed until 30 d after hatching in proportional diluters to pHs of 4.5, 5.5, and 7.2, with and without aluminum (300 μg/L); 37‐d‐old brook trout that had been held in experimental control water since hatching were exposed to these same conditions for 30 d. Exposure conditions (i.e., aluminum and calcium concentrations and pH) simulated conditions in some headwater lakes and streams in the northeastern United States. Adverse effects on exposed brook trout generally increased as pH decreased from 7.2 to 4.5 and potentiation of effects by aluminum occurred at pHs of 5.5 to 7.2. However, embryos and fish older than 36 d were more tolerant of acidic conditions and aluminum than were larvae less than 15 d old. We conclude that the adverse effects on mortality, growth, behavior, and biochemical responses of brook trout at pH 4.5 with or without 300 μg/L aluminum, and at pH 5.5 with 300 μg/L aluminum, would make survival improbable under similar conditions in nature.