Vanadium toxicity to three marine invertebrates larvae: Crassostrea gigas, Paracentrotus lividus and Artemia salina

In this study, the toxicity of vanadium to three invertebrate larvae (Artemia salina, Crassostrea gigas, Paracentrotus lividus) was assessed. Two criteria were mainly observed: percentage of normal developed larvae and growth of normal larvae. After short term experiments (2 days), toxic effect of vanadium appears for a concentration of 50 μg l−1 (C. gigas larvae), 100 μg l−1 (P. lividus pluteus). A. salina are less sensitive, and toxic effects appear only after 8 days of contact with vanadium concentration of 250 μg l−1. For the three species tested, growth of larvae was not affected by the introduction of vanadium up to 750 μg l−1 in the rearing medium, but high teratogenic effect occur on the development of sea urchin pluteus. The toxic effect of vanadium appeared at 50 100 μg l−1 for marine larvae, this observation was in contrast with results previously obtained with adult marine organisms.