P. MUTHUPRIYA AND K. ALTAFF
Abstract
The cyclopoid copepod, Apocyclops royi occur commonly in the Adyar estuary of Chennai coast. This estuary is increasingly contaminated with heavy metals through industrial effluents. Laboratory experiments were conducted by exposing A. royi to different concentration of heavy metals such as Zn, Cd and Pb. The influence of these metals on the survival and reproductive performance were evaluated. Pb showed less influence on the survival of A. royi than Zn and Cd. These heavy metals exerted different toxicity influence on reproduction and hatching of this species. Exposure of this species to sublethal concentration of Pb inhibited egg production more severely than the Zn and Cd.