Toxicity Testing of Waterborne Mercury with Red Sea Bream (Pagrus major) Embryos and Larvae

Acute toxicity tests revealed that, in red sea bream (Pagrus major) embryos, 24 and 48 h LC50 values of waterborne HgCl2 were 67.3 and 39.1 μg Hg2+ L−1. In larvae, 48, 72 and 96 h LC50 values were 41.9, 36.1 and 34.8 μg Hg2+ L−1, respectively. Sub-chronic toxicity tests indicated that mercury concentrations ≥20 μg Hg2+ L−1 decreased hatching success, increased mortality and induced teratogenicity in embryos and larvae. The NOEC, LOEC and MATC values were 8.0, 16.3 and 11.4 μg Hg2+ L−1 for hatching success, mortality and teratogenicity; while those were 27.0, 36.9 and 31.6 μg Hg2+ L−1 for body length and specific growth rate, respectively.