Heavy Metals and the Fertilization of Rainbow Trout Eggs

Abstract

THE effects of poisons on the development and survival of fertilized fish eggs have often been described but little information is available on the effects of such substances on either the gametes or fertilization. Mann, for example, has reported¹ that a dodecylbenzenesulphonate detergent caused a 26% loss of mobility of trout spermatozoa at a concentration of 5 mg l.⁻¹, and the anaesthetic drug tricaine methanesulphonate was found² not to affect fertilization provided that the concentration did not exceed 50 mg l.⁻¹. The effects of heavy metals on these life stages and processes do not, however, seem to be known, even though these poisons are common pollutants of river waters in industrial areas. We report here results of preliminary tests made at this laboratory into the effects of copper and nickel on the fertilization of eggs of the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson.