| dc.description.abstract | This project analyzed the effects of the emerging marine pollutant commonly known as oxybenzone. Oxybenzone is a chemical ingredient commonly used in sunscreen lotions, as well as other hygienic products. There is growing concern that oxybenzone can cause adverse effects in exposed invertebrate and vertebrate organisms, such as estrogenic endocrine effects and negatively altered growth or survival. Embryo-larval fish are expected to be particularly sensitive at this early life stage. They are likely to be impacted by oxybenzone exposure as their developmental processes are likely to be perturbed, potentially causing long term sub-lethal effects that compromise the potential for growth, survival, and reproduction during the life-span of the impacted organism. If these potentially physiologically hindering effects are occurring in wild coastal populations, it may raise a risk of a possible population decrease to those organisms that are exposed to impactful levels of oxybenzone. At present, there is a lack of studies analyzing the effects of oxybenzone on fish at environmentally relevant concentration levels. My project aims to address this knowledge gap by exposing early life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to increasing levels of oxybenzone and measuring their altered oxygen consumption and metabolic rates as a result of exposure. The levels chosen for testing encompass environmentally relevant concentration ≤10 ug/L (i.e ≤10ppb). The effects of oxybenzone exposure on fish were tested using multi-well micro-respirometery for oxygen consumption rates. More detailed analysis of the physiological effects will also be determined by performing whole-genome transcriptomics analysis (RNA sequencing or RNA-seq) on the zebrafish in the future. Together these analyses will provide information on the effects at a whole organism level, from effects on respiration and metabolism, to RNA sequencing effects at the genome level. The results of my project will determine whether fish living in oxybenzone polluted areas are at risk of adverse physiological effects. | |
