Combined Toxicity of Copper, Cadmium and Lead Toward Daphnia magna: Recommendation for Bioassay-Based Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Testing in China

Review Data

Q: Is the topic relevant to the journal area of interest? Is it contemporary and interesting for

researchers?

A: Weak

Abstract & Keywords

Q: Are all required components included in the abstract? Are the keywords appropriately chosen?

A: Good

Goal

Q: Is the goal explicitly stated in the Introduction? Is its formulation clear and unambiguous?

A: Very good

Structure

Q: Is the paper's structure coherent? Is it in coherence with the goal of the paper?

A: Good

Tools and Methods

Q: Are methods the author uses adequate and well used?

A: Very good

Discussion & Conclusion

Q: Is it related to the results presented before? Do you consider them as coherent?

A: Excellent

Comments:

The Discussion section thoroughly analyses the observations presented in this study with the help of relevant literature. It demonstrates the usefulness of concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) models in accurate prediction of the toxicity of metal mixtures to Daphnia magna. It also highlights the safety and effectiveness of whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing in environmental management and risk assessment. The Conclusion section is consistent with the evidences presented in this article.

Literature

Q: Does the author utilize relevant literature?

A: Good

Author's knowledge

Q: What is the level of the author’s knowledge? Does the author utilize all recent contributions relevant to the topic?

A: Very good

Length

Q: Is the length of the paper adequate to the significance of the topic? Do you suggest shortening the paper without losing its value?

A: Good

Figures & Tables

Q: Does the author use them suitably? Are legend and notations clear?

A: Very good

Writing style

Q: Is it clear and understandable?

A: Good

Comments: Words like “survivability”, “theoretical” are misspelled in the text section of the article.

Further comments on the paper

Comments: This study provides a valuable insight into the significance of whole effluents toxicity (WET) assay as a potent complement to chemical analysis and model prediction in environmental management and risk assessment. It assesses the combined effects of metals that pose significant threat to aquatic organisms. This study also evaluates the single, binary and ternary toxicity of copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) towards survival rate of Daphnia magna and the experimental results of the mixture were compared with the predictions estimated by concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) models which would provide an important reference of Cu, Cd and Pb co-exposure for possible disease diagnosis and risk based on single toxicant discharged standard. Thus, better understanding of metal-mixture toxicity leads to improved and more accurate metal-mixture models that can be used for more cost-effective regulation. The study is limited as there is no quantitative description of the mode of action and toxicity pathways of the target gene, responsible for the combined effects.

Q: Would you recommend this manuscript for further publication?

A: Yes - Suitable to be published

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Science Repository Team