The use of a test battery in marine ecotoxicology: The acute toxicity of sodium dodecyl sulfate

• Published in: Environmental toxicology Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 373 - 379
• Main Authors: Mariani, Livia, De Pascale, Domenica, Faraponova, Olga, Tornambè, Andrea, Sarni, Angela, Giuliani, Silvia, Ruggiero, Giordano, Onorati, Fulvio, Magaletti, Erika
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.08.2006; Wiley
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Aliivibrio fischeri - drug effects; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bass - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Chlorophyta - drug effects; Copepoda - drug effects; Dicentrarchus labrax; Dunaliella tertiolecta; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Paracentrotus - drug effects; Paracentrotus lividus; SDS; Seawater - chemistry; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate - toxicity; test battery; Tigriopus fulvus; toxicity assessment; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Vibrio fischeri; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Paracentrotus lividus; Echinodermata; Toxicity; Dunaliella tertiolecta; Chlorophyceae; Marine environment; Tigriopus fulvus; Aquatic environment; toxicity assessment; Vibrio fischeri; Pisces; Bacteria; Echinoidea; Thallophyta; test battery; SDS; Ecotoxicology; Algae; Acute; Lauryl sulfate; Vertebrata; Chlorophyta; Vibrionaceae; Environment; Dicentrarchus labrax; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 1520-4081; 1522-7278
• DOI: 10.1002/tox.20204

For a toxicity assessment of substances entering the marine environment, it is preferable to carry out ecotoxicological tests on a base‐set of taxa utilizing target species belonging to different trophic levels. In this study a battery composed of Vibrio fischeri (bacteria), Dunaliella tertiolecta (algae), Tigriopus fulvus (crustacea), Paracentrotus lividus (echinodermata), and Dicentrarchus labrax (pisces) was used for acute toxicity testing of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). SDS is an anionic surfactant widely employed in industry, agriculture, and domestic usage and therefore is found in abundance in the environment, particularly in the sea. The mean values of EC50 obtained were 2.6, 4.8, 7.4, 3.2, 7.3 mg L−1, respectively, for V. fischeri, D. tertiolecta, T. fulvus, P. lividus, and D. labrax. The results indicate the high acute toxicity of SDS with respect to all the trophic levels represented by the target species. In addition, they highlight the usefulness of employing a base‐set of taxa rather than a single species in toxicological tests, in order to obtain more reliable information for the evaluation of toxicity and potential hazards to the marine environment of selected substances. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 21: 373–379, 2006.