Hydrostatic pressure and the experimental toxicology of marine fishes: the elephant in the room
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363, more
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| Keywords |
Pisces [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Hydrostatic pressure; Toxicology; Marine fishes; Combined effects |
| Abstract |
Hydrostatic pressure (HP) increases linearly with depth in aquatic environments, so that many fish species routinely experience moderate-to-high HP levels (i.e., from a few to dozens of MPa). Biological effects of this thermodynamic variable are evidenced by a reduced functionality of many biomolecular systems, even in barotolerant and barophilic species. It is likely that environmentally-relevant HP levels (i.e., above atmospheric) could also modulate the responsiveness to and toxic effects of pollutants in fish. Still, only a few laboratories have investigated this possibility. The already-published ecobarotoxicological studies have brought strong support to the notion that HP can indeed modulate pollutant response in shallow-water and deep-sea animals. A careful reassessment of toxicity responses is therefore required. To quantify the exact influence of HP in marine fish toxicology, a research framework is proposed that should ensure the collection of meaningful data for risk assessment, using standard toxicity testing and mechanistic approaches. |
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