Qualitative use of Dynamic Energy Budget theory in ecotoxicology: Case study on oil contamination and Arctic copepods

The Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) theory provides a logic and consistent framework to evaluate ecotoxicological test results. Currently this framework is not regularly applied in ecotoxicology given perceived complexity and data needs. However, even in the case of low data availability the DEB theory is already useful. In this paper we apply the DEB theory to evaluate the results in three previously published papers on the effects of PAHs on Arctic copepods. Since these results do not allow for a quantitative application we used DEB qualitatively. The ecotoxicological results were thereby set in a wider ecological context and we found a logical explanation for an unexpected decline in hatching success described in one of these papers. Moreover, the DEB evaluation helped to derive relevant ecological questions that can guide future experimental work on this subject.