Acute toxicity of ammonia and nitrite to shortnose sturgeon fingerlings

The 96-h median-lethal concentration (96-h LC50) of total ammonia nitrogen (ammonia-N) to fingerling shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum was 149.8 ?? 55.20 mg/L (mean ?? SD, 17.9 ?? 0.62??C, pH = 6.8-7.3). Calculated 96-h LC50 for un-ionized ammonia-N was 0.58 ?? 0.213 mg/L. The 96-h LC50 of nitrite nitrogen to shortnose sturgeon fingerlings was 11.3 ?? 8.17 mg/L (17.9 ?? 0.31??C, <1.0 mg chloride/L, <1.0 mg magnesium/L, 1.8 mg calcium/L, 7.7 mg sodium/L).