APES 8.13 Dose Response Curve

Dose Response Curves

• Graphing response:

  • Y-axis: % Mortality (dependent variable).

  • X-axis: Dose concentration (independent variable).

  • Threshold: Lowest detectable level for a response (e.g., 40 mg/kg shown to start causing some deaths).

• Shape of Curve:

  • Typical S-shaped curve with low mortality at low concentrations, increasing mortality after surpassing the threshold.

  • LD50 example occurs at about 100 mg/kg for certain test organisms.

  • Different organisms have varying tolerance levels; large sample sizes help establish clearer data.