Study on the Effect of Alcoholic Beverages on the Heart Rate of Daphnia (Daphnia magna)

Paradela, Immanuel P., Celdran, Pablo Bruno Manuel I., Canalita, Everlita E. and Tarranza, Victoria A.

Abstract: Alcoholic beverage is any fermented liquor such as wine, beer, or distilled spirit that contains ethyl alcohol or ethanol as intoxicating agent. Daphnia ( Daphnia magna) or water flea is a planktonic crustacean commonly found in canals and other waterways. It has been used as a standard organism for toxicity testing and toxicological reaction to environmental pollutants. The study is concerned on whether the brand and concentration of alcoholic beverages have an effect on the heart rate of Daphnia and verify if these factors can cause a significant difference. Samples of the organism were directly exposed to an aqueous environment with different concentrations of alcohol. The experiment used three different alcoholic beverages at three different concentrations in water. In the control group, no alcohol was added to the water. Results show that exposure of Daphnia to alcohol affects its heart rate. As the concentration of alcohol increases, the heart rate decreases. This observation is true for all the alcoholic beverages used in the experiment.

Keywords: Toxicity, daphnia, alcoholic beverages, heart rate.

Pages: 215 – 221 | Full PDF Paper