Life-history consequences of adaptation to pollution. "Daphnia longispina clones historically exposed to copper".

The present study was conducted to assess life history effects of adaptation to pollution in Daphnia longispina clones historically exposed to an acid mine drainage from an abandoned pyrite mine. Four sensitive and resistant clones from reference and impacted populations were exposed to a range of copper exposure levels and their life history and physiological responses in terms of survival, reproduction, respiration and feeding rates compared. The most resistant clone was from 16 to 48 fold more tolerant to copper in terms of LC(50) and population growth rates than sensitive ones, respectively. The genetic differences between the resistant and sensitive clones were that in the polluted environment individuals of the resistant clone survived 50% better, reproduced 3 days earlier, grew 20% better, produced three more offspring per day and had population growth rates 45% greater. In the unpolluted environment, however, individuals from the resistant clone had the lowest reproduction and somatic growth rates but equivalent population growth rates, than sensitive daphnids. Thus, these life history changes did not translate into lower fitness in unpolluted environments in terms of population growth rates. Observed higher respiration rates of the most resistant clone support in part the energy cost hypothesis of tolerance, whereas increase feeding, reproduction and growth rates across copper exposure levels may also, indicate that resistant individuals need copper to fulfil they physiological demands thus supporting the metal deficiency hypothesis as well.

Genetic costs of tolerance to metals in Daphnia longispina populations historically exposed to a copper mine drainage.

The present study was conducted to assess three microevolutionary aspects of adaptation to pollution in Daphnia longispina populations historically exposed to an acid mine drainage from an abandoned pyrite mine: pollution mediated effects in acute tolerance to copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn); pollution-mediated effects on genetic variability of tolerant and physiological traits related to fitness (feeding rates); and fitness costs of tolerance measured as genetic trade-offs between tolerance and feeding rates under none and low levels of contamination. These objectives were addressed by comparing broad sense heritabilities and genetic correlations using up to 20 distinct clonal lineages randomly obtained from two populations: one located in a water reservoir contaminated by the acid mine drainage, and the other located in a nearby clean water reservoir. Results showed that only sensitive and resistant lineages to Cu were present in the reference and contaminated site, respectively. For Zn, however, both populations had a similar distribution pattern of sensitivities. Heritability values for tolerant and feeding traits across metal exposure levels was similar in both populations being in most cases greater than 50%. Fitness costs of tolerance were illustrated by lower feeding rates of the tolerant population compared to the reference one and negative genetic correlations between mean clonal feeding rates and median clonal survival time in control conditions (no added Cu or Zn). The results obtained thus support the view that tolerance to pollution is ecologically costly.

Cholinesterase and glutathione-S-transferase activities in freshwater invertebrates as biomarkers to assess pesticide contamination.

Studies investigating the use of biomarkers in pesticide risk assessment have greatly increased in recent years; however, issues concerning the ecological meaning of enzymatic responses have proved controversial. Ideally a good biomarker response should be modulated by the environmental contaminants alone and demonstrate a predictable behavior towards certain types of toxins. As these premises are rarely observed, the present study aims to outline research that has contributed to an understanding of the behavior of two widely used biomarkers, cholinesterase and glutathione-S-transferase, describing environmental and biotic factors that affect their response in freshwater invertebrates. Studies were performed in the main classes of aquatic invertebrates with these biomarkers and conclusions were reached concerning their behavior towards the main classes of pesticides. Links between biomarker responses and conventional endpoints were evaluated so that ecological relevance could be attributed to enzymatic responses. Toxicity of mixtures was investigated, and cases of synergism and antagonism were pointed out as factors changing the expected toxicity of aquatic systems and leading to misinterpretations of biomarker responses. Finally, the use of biomarkers as a tool for biomonitoring and in situ assays was investigated, with discussion of advantages and disadvantages of their use.

Life-history responses of Daphnia magna Straus to binary mixtures of toxic substances: pharmacological versus ecotoxicological modes of action.

Two prevailing theoretical models: concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA), predict mixture toxicity on the basis of known toxicities of the mixture components. To date, both models have been in most occasions evaluated using unicellular in vivo responses or biochemical in vitro responses. However, when considering more complex models such as the whole organism physiology or life-history traits, the dominant ecotoxicological mode of action, based on the exposure concentrations at which various toxicological effects become operative at the level of whole organism, should be considered. Offspring production in Daphnia magna is driven by the resources acquired from food, and the number of live offspring produced by an organism is the result of two independent factors: the number of eggs produced and the percentage of eggs that survive egg development. In this study joint toxicity effects on offspring production in D. magna were tested using binary mixtures of toxic contaminants known to specifically impair food acquisition (lambda-cyhalothrin and cadmium) or to cause egg mortality during development (3,4 dichloroaniline). Tests were performed using a simplified 10-day reproduction assay initiated with gravid females. The results obtained indicate that irrespective of their primary pharmacological mode of action, the joint toxicity of cadmium and lambda-cyhalothrin was predicted by the CA model, whereas the joint toxicity of cadmium and 3,4 dichloroaniline was predicted by the IA model. Thus, the results obtained indicate that for life-history traits such as reproduction responses, the dominant ecotoxicological rather than the pharmacological mode of action should be used for predicting joint mixture effects.