Effects of Electromagnetic Radiation and Radio Frequency on Freshwater Calanoid and Cyclopoid Copepods

Copepods belonging to planktonic species are small crustaceans found in water bodies. Plankton are the primary producers that are important for food webs and ecosystems. This study analyzes the effects of planktonic species in current telecommunication devices that emit radio frequency and produce EM fields. In recent years, there has been massive growth in the number of mobile tower stations. Case studies on the effects of radiation from these towers have been carried out in various organisms. In the present study, plankton species were exposed to two EMFsof 190V and 230V and an RF of 9GHz for different time durations. The high mortality percentage of calanoid copepod Neodiaptomus species was 21.81±3.14, 34.55±1.81, and cyclopoid copepod Mesocyclops species was 18.18±3.15, 21.21±2.78 190v and 230v power supplies exposed at 300 min, respectively. Variation in the amount of protein in Neodiaptomus sp. and Mesocyclops sp. was indicated by the effect of radiation. Data on mortality, sublethal duration, motility, protein concentration, and amino acid content are discussed in the present study.