Universidad de Alcalá, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Unidad Docente de Ecología, Biological Invasions Research Group, Universidad de Alcalá, Plaza de San Diego S/N, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2022 Apr;82(3):429-438. doi: 10.1007/s00244-022-00920-z. Epub 2022 Mar 24.
Behavioral endpoints are important parameters to assess the effects of toxicants on aquatic animals. These endpoints are useful in ecotoxicology because several toxicants modify the animal behavior, which may cause adverse effects at higher levels of ecological organization. However, for the development of new bioassays and for including the behavior in ecotoxicological risk assessment, the comparison of sensitivity between different behavioral endpoints is necessary. Additionally, some toxicants remain in aquatic environments for a few hours or days, which may lead to animal recovery after toxicant exposure. Our study aimed to assess the effect of unionized ammonia on the movement and feeding behaviors of the aquatic gastropod Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Tateidae, Mollusca) and its recovery after exposure. Four treatments were used: a control and three nominal concentrations of unionized ammonia (0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg N-NH/L). Each treatment was replicated eight times, with six animals in each replicate. Animals were exposed to unionized ammonia for 48 h (exposure period) and, subsequently, to control water for 144 h (post-exposure period). Two movement variables were monitored without food and five feeding behavioral variables were monitored in the presence of food. Some of the feeding behavioral variables showed higher sensitivity (LOEC = 0.25-0.5 mg N-NH/L) than the movement behavior variables monitored without food (LOEC = 1 mg N-NH/L). After exposure to unionized ammonia, animals showed a recovery of most behavioral endpoints. The inclusion of post-exposure period and feeding behaviors in bioassays may make studies more realistic, which is crucial for a proper ecotoxicological risk assessment.
行为终点是评估水生动物受毒物影响的重要参数。这些终点在生态毒理学中很有用，因为许多毒物会改变动物的行为，这可能会在更高的生态组织水平上造成不良影响。然而，为了开发新的生物测定法，并将行为纳入生态毒理学风险评估中，有必要比较不同行为终点的敏感性。此外，一些毒物在水生环境中仅存在数小时或数天，这可能导致动物在暴露于毒物后恢复。本研究旨在评估非离子氨对水生腹足纲动物（淡水笠螺科，软体动物）的运动和摄食行为的影响及其暴露后的恢复情况。使用了四种处理方法：对照组和三个非离子氨的名义浓度（0.25、0.5 和 1 mg N-NH/L）。每个处理重复 8 次，每个重复有 6 只动物。动物暴露于非离子氨中 48 小时（暴露期），随后暴露于对照水中 144 小时（暴露后期）。在没有食物的情况下监测了两个运动变量，在有食物的情况下监测了五个摄食行为变量。一些摄食行为变量的敏感性更高（LOEC=0.25-0.5 mg N-NH/L），而没有食物时监测的运动行为变量的敏感性较低（LOEC=1 mg N-NH/L）。暴露于非离子氨后，动物的大多数行为终点都得到了恢复。在生物测定中纳入暴露后期和摄食行为可能会使研究更加真实，这对于进行适当的生态毒理学风险评估至关重要。
