Freshwater Oil Spills: Effects on Daphnia Magna

Overview

To gain insight into the effect that gasoline contamination and ethanol flushing (a means of counteracting gasoline contamination) have on freshwater microorganisms, research on the physiological stress indicators—heart rate change and jerking rate—that Daphnia magna show in response to exposure to these contaminants have been conducted. It was hypothesised that the physiological stress indicators of Daphnia magna will change in proportion to the volume of spilled gasoline, and that adding equivalent amounts of ethanol and inducing the flushing effect will minimise disturbances caused by gasoline contamination. A series of tests were created to examine the cardiac disturbance in Daphnia magna after 30 minutes of exposure to various concentrations of gasoline and ethanol. Environmental factors were also included to simulate real freshwater habitats. After initial experimentation, the Daphnia magna samples were relocated to the original culturing water and their jerking rates and the recovery of their cardiac conditions were observed for 30 minutes to quantify their ability to recover after exposure to contaminants. The hypothesis was proved partially correct. Physiological stress indicators of Daphnia magna did indeed change in proportion to the volume of spilled gasoline. However, tests in which Daphnia magna were exposed to gasoline contaminated mixtures with ethanol flushing induced yielded that ethanol only deteriorated the damage done by gasoline contamination, rather than ameliorating it. Thus, it can be concluded that the volume of spilled gasoline is proportional to the damage done on Daphnia magna populations. However, the use of ethanol flushing as a means of contamination remediation requires further study.

Competition history

• AJAS 2018 Category not listed

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