Resumen en español

This paper describes the effects of mercury on some aquatic plants of the tropics and their habitats. Additionally, a protocol for toxicity tests in duckweed (Lemna minor) is recommended, and the results of preliminary tests with salts of mercury under laboratory conditions are given. It was found that mercury is in different toxicity and bioavailability forms depending on the factors that facilitate the solubilization of this element in the water. Many plants act as bioindicators because they withhold the metal selectively, while others are bioaccumulators since they tolerate and accumulate them in their structures producing biomagnification through the food web. The preliminary tests carried out in Lemna minor suggest that the appropriate concentrations for the toxicity tests are between 0,01 mg/L and 10,0 mg/L for Hg.