Effects of sudden stress due to heavy metal mercury on benthic foraminifer Rosalina leei: Laboratory culture experiment

Laboratory culture experiments were carried out to understand the response of benthic foraminifer Rosalina leei to gradual as well as sudden addition of heavy metal mercury into the media. When mercury was added suddenly, specimens did not show any change in morphology during the initial 40days. However, later on, out of all the specimens subjected to mercury concentrations up to 150ng/l, 75% developed deformities, whereas all the specimens subjected to 150–275ng/l Hg concentrations, had deformed chambers. All specimens kept at 300ng/l Hg concentration died within 20days. In addition to this, irregularities were also observed in the rate of reproduction, number of juveniles produced and the survival rate of the juveniles. Where as in an earlier experiment where Hg concentration was increased gradually, irregularities in the newly added chambers were noticed only in case of specimens subjected to very high (180ng/l) Hg concentration. However, during this experiment, growth was found to be inversely proportional to the mercury concentration.