Predation risk affects the ecotoxicity evaluation of antibiotics: Population growth and antioxidase activity in the ciliate Paramecium jenningsi

Although predation risk exists under natural conditions, its role is usually ignored when evaluating the eco-toxicity of environmental contaminants, and the interaction between predation risk and antibiotic ecotoxicity is not yet clear. To investigate the nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) of predation on the ecotoxicity evaluation of antibiotics, the median lethal concentration (LC50), relative population growth rate (RGR), and activities of three antioxidases were measured in the ciliate Paramecium jenningsi exposed to graded concentrations of the antibi-otics nitrofurazone (NFZ) or erythromycin (ERY) in the presence or absence of a predator, i.e., the ciliate Didinium nasutum. The results showed that (1) NCEs significantly reduced the LC50 of NFZ but had no effect on that of ERY; (2) predation pressure alone had no significant effect on the inhibitory rate of the P. jenningsi population, but the interaction with NFZ was synergistic, while that with CRY was additive; (3) the concen-tration-response (i.e., mortality) model for each antibiotic exposure with and without predation pressure differed significantly in the parameter slope; (4) RGRs were significantly reduced by antibiotic exposure or NCEs; only in NFZ-exposed groups did the RGRs decrease linearly with increasing exposure concentration; and (5) the activities of all three antioxidases significantly increased due to NCEs or following exposure to antibiotics. In brief, NCEs were detected in P. jenningsi, and these had additive or synergistic effects on antibiotic ecotoxicity, but their magnitude depended on the properties and exposure concentrations of the antibiotics. Our findings suggest that it is necessary to consider the roles of NCEs in the ecotoxicity evaluation of environmental contaminants.