Sensitivity of the Endogeic Tropical Earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus to the Presence of Heavy Crude Oil.
María Del Carmen Cuevas-DíazDinora Vázquez-LunaSergio Martínez-HernándezOswaldo Guzmán-LópezÁngel Isauro Ortiz-CeballosPublished in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology (2017)
Contamination of soil with petroleum is common in oil-producing areas across the tropical regions of the world. There is limited knowledge on the sensitivity of endogeic tropical earthworms to the contamination of soil with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) present in crude oil. Pontoscolex corethrurus is a dominant species in tropical agroecosystems around oil-processing facilities. The sensitivity of P. corethrurus to soil artificially contaminated with "Maya" Mexican heavy crude oil was investigated through avoidance and acute ecotoxicity tests, using the following measured concentrations: 0 (reference soil), 551, 969, 4845, 9991 and 14,869 mg/kg. The avoidance test showed that P. corethrurus displayed a significant avoidance behavior to heavy crude oil at a concentration of 9991 mg/kg or higher. In contrast, acute toxicity tests indicate that the median lethal concentration (LC50) was 3067.32 mg/kg; however, growth (weight loss) was more sensitive than mortality. Our study revealed that P. corethrurus is sensitive to TPH, thus highlighting the importance of P. corethrurus for petroleum ecotoxicological tests.
Keyphrases
- fatty acid
- climate change
- weight loss
- liver failure
- risk assessment
- healthcare
- respiratory failure
- type diabetes
- bariatric surgery
- cardiovascular disease
- oxidative stress
- mass spectrometry
- heavy metals
- health risk
- risk factors
- coronary artery disease
- plant growth
- roux en y gastric bypass
- high resolution
- simultaneous determination
- genetic diversity