ABSTRACT
A major deficiency in marine toxicological testing procedures involves the choice of target organisms. There is a tendency for animals to be selected more for their amenability to laboratory experimentation than for any consideration of their ecological importance. This study investigates the suitability of so-called ‘key’ species (i.e. those which by their numbers, size, shape or activity control community organisation) in toxicological testing. The burrowing ophiuroid Amphiura filiformis was chosen as one such species on the basis of its relatively stable, high density and longevous population in Galway Bay (west coast of Ireland), where it is suspected of ‘regulating’ both its sedimentary environment and associated macrofauna. In theory, at least, the disabling or removal of A. filiformis by toxic poisoning could totally change the character of the benthic community.
