Phascolosoma agassizii

Many studies have discovered that animals exposed to naphthalene rapidly eliminate this compound once exposed to uncontaminated conditions. For example, Lyes (1979) found that lugworms (Arenicola marina) exposed to " C-naphthalene seawater for a short period of time (12 hr) rapidly lost this compound from tissue and were no different from control animals after 24 hr. Even with a longer exposure time, Anderson et al. (1977) found that the naphthalene that had accumulated in a sipunculid worm (Phascolosoma agassizii) over 2 wk of exposure was rapidly lost when individuals were transferred to clean sediment. Additional long-term studies with an LPAH such as naphthalene will help determine if PAHs with AT s in this range may be persistent. 

Anderson JW, Moore LJ, Blaylock JW, Woodruff DL, Kiesser SL (1977) Bioavailability of sediment-sorbed naphthalenes to the sipunculid worm, Phascolosoma agassizii. In Wolf D (ed) Fate and Effects of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Marine Ecosystems and Organisms. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 276-285. 

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