Avoidance tests as a tool to detect sublethal effects of oil‐impacted sediments

Abstract

Currently, risk assessment for oil contamination does not consider behavioral responses of benthos to oil toxicity. Avoidance of oil-contaminated sediment by benthic amphipods, however, may be a highly sensitive endpoint for sublethal effects of commonly used distillate fuels. In the present study, the avoidance behavior of temperate freshwater (Gammarus pulex) and marine (Gammarus locusta) amphipods was tested by allowing them to choose between a reference sediment and a distillate marine grade A (DMA) oil-spiked sediment. Avoidance of DMA-spiked sediment at 1000 mg/kg dry weight was significant within the total exposure time (96 h) in G. pulex and within the first 72 h in G. locusta in 1 of 2 tests. Absence of DMA avoidance at lower concentrations (≤250 mg/kg dry wt) indicates that test species can only detect DMA above these concentrations. However, sensitivity to oil may vary according to the phenology and physiological conditions of the populations involved, such as the species temperature tolerance and reproductive stage. The results suggest that avoidance tests may be used as an alternative to traditional chronic toxicity tests provided that a causal link between avoidance and long-term effects can be established. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1757-1766. © 2018 SETAC.

Temperate Versus Arctic: Unraveling the Effects of Temperature on Oil Toxicity in Gammarids

“…The present study only concerned acute, narcotic effects; and it should be noted that oil can also cause adverse effects by smothering organisms, by inducing specific toxicity, or by causing sublethal effects upon chronic exposure to low concentrations (Stark et al, 2017;Szczybelski et al, 2018).…”

“…For the experiments conducted at temperate conditions, the amphipod G. locusta was used. This species lives on sediment and macrophytes, occurs on west European coasts (Costa et al, 2004), and is frequently used in eco(toxico)logical research (see Szczybelski et al, 2018). Organisms were collected in the intertidal area at two sites in the Oosterschelde, The Netherlands (Goese Sas [51°32′43.36″N, 3°55′28.79″E] and Kattendijke [51°31′45.71″N, 3°57′57.07″E]), between March and June 2016.…”

“…The oil used in the experiments was distillate marine grade A (DMA; Shell marine gas oil), a low‐sulfuric (<1.5%) diesel petroleum, containing a blend of refined (distilled) oils and having a density of 0.87 kg/L at 20 °C. It has been previously used in other toxicity studies (Brils et al, 2002; Jonker et al, 2006; Szczybelski et al, 2018; Vrabie et al, 2009). Water accommodated fractions of DMA oil were prepared in 5‐L glass Duran® bottles, equipped with a glass‐bottom tap.…”

Coastal enhanced olivine weathering for climate change mitigation: investigating the CO2 sequestration potential and ecotoxicological risks

“…However, various studies have shown that amphipods significantly avoid contaminated sediments in a concentration dependent manner (Hellou et al, 2005;De Lange et al, 2006;Szczybelski et al, 2018). Therefore, G. locusta possibly avoided pure olivine due to its high Ni (38 µmol g -1 d.w.) and Cr (23 µmol g -1 d.w.) content (Table 5.1) in order to reduce trace metal exposure (Araújo et al, 2016).…”

Sponge-Associated Amphipod Communities as Bioindicators for Pollution

“…Thompson et al, 2007;Szczybelski et al 2018). 1.1.3.4 Plastic pollutionHarm caused by heavy metals, PAHs and other POPs can be inflated by the presence of plastic particles that may act as a vector(Qui et al, 2015;Akhbarizadeh et al, 2017;Ferreira et al, 2019;Yazdani-Foshtomi et al, 2019).…”