Alterations in Composition of Field- and Laboratory-Developed Estuarine Benthic Communities Exposed to Di-n-Butyl Phthalate

摘要

Macrobenthic animal communities, developed in sand-filled aquaria in the laboratory and in the field, were exposed to three concentrations of the plasticizer, di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), and effects on community structure assessed. Laboratory communities were colonized by planktonic larvae in unfiltered seawater; field communities, by naturally occurring animals. After 8 weeks of colonization, laboratory and field communities (removed to the laboratory) were exposed to DBP for 2 weeks.