Daphnia magna reproduction test

The primary objective of the test is to assess the effect of chemicals on the reproductive output of Daphnia magna.

Young female Daphnia (the parent animals), aged less than 24 hours at the start of the test, are exposed to the test substance added to water at a range of concentrations. The test duration is 21 days. At the end of the test, the total number of living offspring produced is assessed.

Reproductive output of the parent animals can be expressed in other ways (e.g. number of living offspring produced per animal per day from the first day offspring were observed) but these should be reported in addition to the total number of living offspring produced at the end of the test.

Because of the particular design of the semi-static test compared to other OECD invertebrate reproduction Test Guidelines, it is also possible to count the number of living offspring produced by each individual parent animal.

OECD (2012), Test No. 211: Daphnia magna Reproduction Test, OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals, Section 2, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264185203-en.

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