Effects of Avobenzone on the Swim Velocity and Survival Rate of Danio rerio Larvae

Background Avobenzone is a UV-A filtering compound found in many personal care products such as sunscreens, cosmetics and soaps. Previous studies found that avobenzone exposure is associated with increased acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, which correlates with altered swimming behaviour in aquatic organisms. This study assessed the effects of varying avobenzone concentrations on survival rate and swim velocity in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio). Methods Survival rate was continuously monitored over a 7 day exposure while swim velocity was recorded with behaviour tracking software at 7 days post fertilization. Results We found that exposure to avobenzone elicited non-monotonic changes to larval zebrafish swim velocity, while leaving survival rate statistically unaffected. Conclusions We speculate that avobenzone does not impart high lethality, and that swim velocity changes were caused by energy diversion from locomotor activity to toxicant elimination by active transport at high concentrations.