Toxicity of dispersed oil on Gold–saddle rabbitfish Siganus guttatus fry

Authors:
Rodulf Anthony T. Balisco^1,2 and Gerald F. Quinitio^2
1College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Western Philippines University – Puerto Princesa Campus, Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
²Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanology, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines

ABSTRACT
The acute toxicity of dispersant Mardeus-455 added to water accommodated fractions (WAF) were evaluated in Gold-saddle rabbitfish Siganus guttatus fry after 72 h exposure under laboratory conditions. Mortalities of fry exposed to different concentrations of dispersed oil were recorded every hour for the first 6 h, every 3 h for the next 12 h, and every 6 h thereafter. Results showed that the higher the ratio of dispersant and WAF, the higher the mortality of the rabbitfish fry which may be due to the enhanced availability of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The LC₅₀ was computed at 3.692% of the oil volume. The application of dispersant in cleaning oil spills must be limited to reduce its harmful effect in the marine environment. Assessing toxicity of dispersed oil in fish fry may help understand the extent of environmental damage after cleaning oil spill using dispersant.

Keywords: acute toxicity, dispersed oil, Siganus guttatus, water accommodated fraction, mortality

How to Cite:
Balisco RAT and Quinitio GF. 2017. Toxicity of dispersed oil on Gold–saddle rabbitfish Siganus guttatus fry. The Palawan Scientist, 9: 37-48. https://doi.org/10.69721/TPS.J.2017.09.1.03

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