This CRED reporting checklist was developed to help researchers design, perform and report ecotoxicity studies in a transparent way that fulfill the reliability criteria for regulatory risk assessment. Not all criteria apply to all studies.
1 | General information |
a | Purpose of study |
b | Description of endpoints |
2 | Test setup |
a | Performed according to standard/modified standard (e.g., OECD, US EPA) |
b | Performed according to Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) |
c | Description of used control(s): negative control, solvent control, positive control |
d | Control(s) mortality, growth, morbidity and other observed non-standard effects like behavior and coloring |
e | Comparison to validity criteria (e.g. control survival, growth) from appropriate standard test method |
3 | Test compound |
a | Identification (e.g. name, CAS-number, specify if the salt or the base is tested) |
b | Physico-chemical characteristics that may influence the behavior of the compound during the study data (e.g. solubility, volatility, stability (hydrolysise, photolysise, degradation), solubility, log KOW, degradability, adsorption) |
c | Source |
d | Purity in % |
e | Composition of product formulation, and presence of impurities |
4 | Test organism |
a | Scientific name |
b | Body weight, length |
c | Age/life-stage |
d | Growth/reproductive condition |
e | Sex |
f | Strain, clone |
g | Source, including possible pre-exposure for field-collected species |
h | Culture handling |
5 | Exposure conditions |
a | Exposure schedule (static, semi static, flow through system, other) and flow-rate (flow-through systems) or renewal time (semi-static systems) |
b | Open or closed system |
c | Test medium composition and source of test water (e.g., well water, deionised water, tap water) |
d | Temperature, and time-points for measuring |
e | pH, and time-points for measuring |
f | Hardness of water, and time-points for measuring |
g | Conductivity, and time-points for measuring |
h | Dissolved oxygen content, and time-points for measuring |
i | Light intensity and quality (source and homogeneity), light/dark conditions |
j | Feeding protocols, food composition |
k | Material and volume of aquarium/container and other equipment in contact with test organisms and test substance |
l | Use of sand or sediment, and its characteristics (total organic carbon (TOC), particle size, etc.) |
m | Preparation of stock solutions, including solvent concentrations in test water and controls |
n | Nominal concentrations of test substance |
o | Measured concentrations of test substance, and time-points for measuring |
p | Analytical method: description of method, including limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ) |
q | Exposure duration and total test duration |
r | Time-points of observations for endpoints |
s | Results based on nominal or measured concentrations |
t | Biomass loading (biomass per liter) |
6 | Statistical Design and Biological Response |
a | Number of replicates for control(s) and test concentrations; setup of replicates (avoid pseudo-replication) |
b | Number of organisms, or algal cell concentration, per replicate |
c | Treatment design (e.g., block, randomized) |
d | Statistical method used |
e | Biological response for each concentration |
f | Dose-response observed |
g | Statistically significant responses noted (e.g. ECx) |
h | Significance level for NOEC and LOEC data (0.05 or less) |
i | Estimation of variability for LCx and ECx data |
j |
Availability of raw data: through supplementary information, a website, or upon request. |
Reference: Download the CRED reporting checklist for ecotoxicity studies from Moermond et al. 2015 (excel sheet in Supporting Information, open access).
Contact: Marlene Ågerstrand, marlene.agerstrand@aces.su.se