Active avoidance from a crude oil soluble fraction by an Andean paramo copepod

Cristiano V.M. Araújo, Matilde Moreira-Santos, José P. Sousa, Valeria Ochoa-Herrera, Andrea C. Encalada, Rui Ribeiro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Several oil spills due to ruptures in the pipeline oil systems have occurred at the Andean paramo. A sample of this crude oil was mixed with water from a nearby Andean lagoon and the toxicity of the soluble fraction was assessed through lethal and avoidance assays with a locally occurring copepod (Boeckella occidentalis intermedia). The integration of mortality and avoidance aimed at predicting the immediate decline of copepod populations facing an oil leakage. The 24-h median lethal PAH concentration was 42.7 (26.4-91.6) μg L-1. In the 12-h avoidance assay, 30 % avoidance was recorded at the highest PAH concentration (19.4 μg L-1). The mortality at this PAH concentration would be of 25 % and, thus, the population immediate decline would be of 55 %. The inclusion of non-forced exposure testing with the quantification of the avoidance response in environmental risk assessments is, therefore, supported due to underestimation of the lethal assays.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1254-1259
Number of pages6
JournalEcotoxicology
Volume23
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2014

Keywords

  • Ecuador
  • Non-forced exposure
  • Oil spill
  • Paramo
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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