title: Sensitivity of animals to chemical compounds links to metabolic rate.
abstract: Ecotoxicological studies have shown considerable variation in species sensitivity for chemical compounds, but general patterns in sensitivity are still not known. A better understanding of this sensitivity is important in the context of environmental risk assessment but also in a more general ecological and evolutionary one. We investigated the metabolic rate or more precise the specific somatic maintenance (expressed in J cm(-3) d(-1), at a standardised body temperature of 20 °C) on the sensitivity of a species to chemical poisoning. The sensitivity of a species was expressed in terms of its threshold concentration for survival, the no effect concentrations (NEC, in µmol/L). Somatic maintenance data were based on the 'add-my-pet' database hosted by the VU University of Amsterdam. NECs were derived from the US-EPA ECOTOX database. We focussed on four pesticides; two that need a metabolic activation, Chlorpyrifos and Malathion, and two without metabolic activation, carbofuran and carbaryl. All four pesticides showed a similar response: a strong negative correlation between the specific somatic maintenance and the NEC. We discuss possible explanations, deviations and ecological implications.
authors.affiliation: Centre Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building Benson Lane, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK, janbaa@ceh.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baas
authors.forename: Sebastiaan A L M
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kooijman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001481:Basal Metabolism; D003445:Crustacea / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism; D007306:Insecticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical