Acute toxicity of crude oil water accommodated fraction on marine copepods: the relative importance of acclimatization temperature and body size

Recent oil spillage accidents around the world greatly increase harmful risks to marine ecology. This study evaluated the influences of petroleum water accommodated fraction (WAF) on 15 typical species of marine copepods collected from a subtropical bay in East China Sea at different seasons. Copepods showed impaired swimming ability, restlessness, loss of balance, anoxic coma, and even death when they were acutely exposed to the crude oil WAF under laboratory conditions. The LC50 values (expressed in total petroleum hydrocarbon concentration) indicated that the tolerances of copepods to WAF decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increased exposure duration and natural water temperatures (acclimatization temperature). The sensitivity of the copepods was species-specific (P < 0.01), and there was a significant (P < 0.05) positive correlation between the 48-h LC50 and body size. Therefore, the small copepod species confront more survival challenges under oil contamination stress, especially in the warm months or regions.