Comparative study on sensitivity of higher plants and fish to heavy fuel oil

Abstract

Laboratory tests were conducted on higher plants [garden cress (Lepidium sativum), great duckweed (Spirodela polyrrhiza), and Tradescantia clone BNL 02] and fish [rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at all stages of development: eggs, larvae and adults] to estimate their sensitivity to heavy fuel oil (HFO). A number of biological indices (survival, growth, and physiological and morphological parameters) as well as the genotoxic impact (Tradescantia) of HFO was evaluated by acute and chronic toxicity tests. Fish were found to be more sensitive to the toxic effect of HFO than were higher plants. EC(50) values obtained for higher plants ranged from 8.7 g/L (L. sativum) to 19.8 g/L (Tradescantia), and maximum-acceptable-toxicant concentration (MATC) values ranged from 0.1 to 1.0 g/L of total HFO for L. sativum and Tradescantia, respectively. The 96-h LC(50) values ranged from 0.33 g/L, for larvae, to 2.97 g/L, for adult fish, and the MATC value for fish was found to be equal to 0.0042 g/L of total HFO. To evaluate and predict the ecological risk of the overall effects of oil spills, studies should be performed using a set of acute and chronic bioassays that include test species of different phylogenetic levels with the most sensitive morphological, physiological, and genotoxic indices.

Dangerous Pollutants (Xenobiotics) in Urban Water Cycle

“…It can be concluded that sensitivity of L. sativum and S. polyrrhiza to the impact of substances present in tannery waste water differs. Previous investigations have demonstrated, that L. sativum is more sensitive to organic substances (Kazlauskienė et al, 2004), while S. polyrrhiza is more sensitive to the impact of heavy metals ).…”

“…Bioassays estimate the combined effects of all components present (Wang et al, 2001;Blinova, 2004;Montvydienė and Marčiulionienė, 2004;Loureiro et al, 2006). A bioassays battery is widely used to assess the potential adverse effects of existing or new chemical substances and to evaluate the impact of these substances on various spheres of ecosystems in which they may get into (79/831/EEC, Johnson et al, 2004;Kazlauskienė et al, 2004). Usually it is recommended that species representing different trophic levels be included in the battery (Johnson et al, 2004;Selivanovskaya and Latypova, 2004).…”

Synthesis and herbicidal activities of novel 4-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2H-pyridazin-3-one derivatives

“…polyrrhiza, which is the largest duckweed (giant duckweed) in the Lemnaceae family, is frequently used to determine the potential impacts of heavy metals and other pollutants in environmental risk assessments. It is a sensitive plant that could exhibit effects when treated in low concentrations [22,23]. Herein, we used it to evaluate the bleaching activities of the title compounds (Table 1).…”

Research Into the Effect of Heavy Metals and Their Binary Mixture on the Cardio-Respiratory System of Fish Larvae / Sunkiųjų Metalų Ir Jų Binarinio Mišinio Poveikio Žuvų Kardiorespiracinei Sistemai Ankstyvojoje Ontogenezėje Tyrimai

“…Toksikologiniams tyrimams dažniausiai pasirenkamos žuvys, kadangi jos yra geriausiai ištyrinėti vandens organizmai, be to, daugybė tyrimų rodo, kad žuvys ankstyvuoju vystymosi laikotarpiu yra labai jautrios teršalams Svecevičius et al 2003;Kazlauskienė et al 2004;Vosylienė et al 2005).…”

“…Kadangi natūraliomis sąlygomis gyvus organizmus beveik visada veikia ne viena, bet iš karto kelios medžiagos, todėl gamtiniuose vandenyse esantys metalų mišiniai gali sumažinti žuvų išgyvenimą esant ankstyvajai ontogenezei, sutrikdyti jų vystymąsi ir išsiritimą, kurie savo ruožtu gali turėti neigiamų pasekmių žuvų vėlesnių kartų kokybei ir visai populiacijai (Kazlauskienė et al 2004;Jezierska et al 2009). …”