title: Using early life stages of marine animals to screen the toxicity of priority hazardous and noxious substances.
abstract: This study provides toxicity values for early life stages (ELS) of two phylogenetically distinct marine animal taxa, the sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus), a deuterostome invertebrate, and the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), a vertebrate (teleost), when challenged by six hazardous and noxious substances (HNS): aniline, butyl acrylate, m-cresol, cyclohexylbenzene, hexane and trichloroethylene. The aim of the study was to provide preliminary information on toxic effects of representative and relevant priority HNS to assess the risk posed by spills to marine habitats and therefore improve preparedness and the response at the operational level. Selection criteria to include each compound in the study were (1) inclusion in the HASREP (2005) list; (2) presence on the priority list established by Neuparth et al. (2011); (3) paucity of toxicological data (TOXnet and ECOTOX) for marine organisms; (4) behaviour in the water according to the categories defined by the European Behaviour classification system (GESAMP 2002), by selecting compounds with different behaviours in water; and (5) physicochemical and toxicological properties, where available, in order to anticipate the most toxic compounds. Aniline and m-cresol were the most toxic compounds with no observed apical effect concentration (NOAEC) values for sea urchin ranging between 0.01 and 0.1 mg/L, followed by butyl acrylate and cyclohexylbenzene with NOAECs ranging between 0.1 and 1.0 mg/L and trichloroethylene with NOAEC values that were in the range between 1 and 10 mg/L, reflecting their behaviour in water, mostly vapour pressure, but also solubility and log Kow. Hexane was toxic only for turbot embryos, due to its neurotoxic effects, and not for sea urchin larvae, at concentrations in the range between 1 and 10 mg/L. The concentrations tested were of the same order of magnitude for both species, and it was observed that sea urchin embryos (length of the longest arm) are more sensitive than turbot eggs larvae (hatching and cumulative mortality rates) to the HNS tested (except hexane). For this specific compound, concentrations up to 70 mg/L were tested in sea urchin larvae and no effects were observed on the length of the larvae. Both tests were found to be complementary depending on behaviour in water and toxicity target of the compounds analysed.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIMAR/CIIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal. isabel.cunha@ciimar.up.pt.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6149-9840
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIMAR/CIIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Tiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIMAR/CIIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIMAR/CIIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal.|Health and Environmental Research Center (CISA), Superior School of Health Technology of Porto, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rosário
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft Laboratory, Lowestoft, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McGowan
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Lowestoft Laboratory, Lowestoft, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sheahan
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIMAR/CIIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal. santos@ciimar.up.pt.|Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. santos@ciimar.up.pt.
authors.forename: Miguel Machado
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000187:drug effects; D003408:Cresols; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047328:Paracentrotus / Q000187:drug effects; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D003408:Cresols; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C032538:4-cresol
keywords: Early life stage (ELS) bioassays; Hazardous and noxious substances (HNS); Marine spill; Paracentrotus lividus; Scophthalmus maximus; Standard European Behaviour Classification (SEBC)