Acute Toxicity of Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid on Early Life Stages of Daphnia Magna, Siriella Armata, Paracentrotus Lividus Sea Urchin, and Turbot (Scophthalmus Maximus L.).

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent organic pollutant whose potential toxicity is causing great concern. In the present study, we used two crustaceans (Daphnia magna, Siriella armata), echinoid embryos (Paracentrotus lividus) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.) embryos and larvae to investigate the acute toxicity of this compound. The marine species S. armata exhibited greater sensitivity than the freshwater species D. magna. In the 48-h acute toxicity test the median lethal concentration was 10.96 mg/L for S. armata and 87.46 mg/L for D. magna. In the 96h toxicity test, turbot showed the lowest EC50 (0.155 mgL-1), whilst the EC50 for S. armata was 7.92 mgL-1 which was approximately three times lower than that for sea urchin (24.12 mgL-1). The EC10 values were estimated as 0.032 mgL-1, 4.23 mgL-1 and 45.21 mgL-1 for turbot, Siriella and daphnia, respectively. The LOEC values were 75 µgL-1, 2.5 mgL-1 and 75 mgL-1 (p< 0.05) for turbot, daphnia, and Siriella, respectively. The NOEC values were estimated at 37.5 µgL-1, 1.25 mgL-1 and 50 mgL-1 (p< 0.05) for turbot, Siriella and daphnia, respectively. The order of acute toxicity was: turbot > S. armata > sea urchin > Daphnia magna. This result highlights the importance of including a marine fish in the battery of species to describe the toxicity of these compounds. Considering the persistent nature of PFOS, more research is required to determine potential consequences of long-term exposure to these compounds in aquatic ecosystems.