title: The Effects of Petroleum Hydrocarbons on Algae Can Be Reversed in the Presence of a Primary Consumer.
abstract: The ecotoxicological effects of a mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons were tested on densities of two algae, Platymonas helgolandica var. tsingtaoensis and Isochrysis galbana, and of a rotifer, Brachionus plicatilis, by single-species and customized community experiments. Test concentrations ranged from 0 to 100 mg L(-1), while five to seven treatments were assessed in triplicate within 1 month. A significant decrease in densities during single-species toxicity tests were found when concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons were above 1.0 mg L(-1). However, equilibrium densities of algae in the customized community showed a different pattern, which increased with concentration and reached a peak at 20.0 mg L(-1). The community-based no observed effect concentration (NOEC; 1.0 mg L(-1)) was different from the NOEC derived by single-species toxic tests (0.25 mg L(-1)). This demonstrates that ecotoxicological effects on plankton as part of a community is significantly different from single-species toxicity tests owing to ecological interactions.
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China, chy.w@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Changyou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hongli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D017753:Ecosystem; D058087:Haptophyta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity*; D012403:Rotifera / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D010578:Petroleum