Exposure to sublethal concentrations of the glyphosate-based herbicide Faena® increases sensitivity in the progeny of the American cladoceran Daphnia exilis (Herrick, 1895).

The use of herbicides has increased over the last decades. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide commercialized in more than 750 formulations. While information about glyphosate's toxicity on different non-target aquatic organisms has been vastly documented, we know little about the transgenerational effects in aquatic biota. This study determined the cross-generation effects produced by the glyphosate-based herbicide Faena® on the American cladoceran Daphnia exilis. Measured endpoints were survival, reproductive responses, metabolic biomarkers, and the size of neonates. D. exilis was exposed to glyphosate concentrations of 2.09, 2.49, and 3.15 (mg L-1) (as content in Faena®) during 21 days starting from neonates, at 25°C, 16:8 photoperiod, fed with 8 × 105 cells mL-1 of Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. The LC50 was 4.22 mg L-1. Survival, accumulated progeny, and the number of clutches in the parental generation (P1) were significantly higher than those observed in the first generation (F1). Exposure to the herbicide completely inhibited reproduction in the F1. The size of the neonates varied among treatments and broods in P1; nevertheless, neonate size (body and total lengths, as well as body width) was significantly affected in F1. Toxic effects on the survival and reproduction of D. exilis were significantly increased in the F1 exposed to Faena®. Results warn about the augmented effect on progeny where parents were exposed to this herbicide. Multigenerational adverse effects could be expected in freshwater zooplankton exposed to Faena®. The frequently claimed low toxicity of glyphosate must be revised to control the indiscriminate use of this herbicide.

Chronic effect of NaCl salinity on a freshwater strain of Daphnia magna Straus (Crustacea: Cladocera): a demographic study.

Daphnia magna is mainly recognized as a freshwater cladoceran, but there are some strains that grow in brackish waters. The tolerance to salinity of a freshwater strain was assessed at NaCl concentrations of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 7 g L(-1). The green microalga Ankistrodesmus falcatus was fed at optimal concentration (4 x 10(5)cells mL(-1)). Reproduction and survival were recorded in two experimental series: in the first one, 20 female neonates were individually studied for each treatment. In the second, cohorts of 10 female neonates were distributed in each of five replicates per treatment. In both cases, experiments were conducted over a full life-cycle. The determined 48-h LC(50) for NaCl was 5.48 g L(-1), but we recorded reproduction at up to 7 g NaCl L(-1). The average clutch size, total progeny, number of clutches, and longevity were significantly reduced by the NaCl concentration (P<0.01); total progeny ranged from 467 to 25 neonates as edge values for NaCl concentrations of 0-7 g L(-1). Inter-brood time was significantly higher for females grown at 7 g NaCl L(-1) (3.9 days). The Life Table analysis demonstrates that average lifespan, life expectancy at birth, net reproductive rate and intrinsic rate of growth were also significantly reduced according to NaCl concentration. Based on the results for the two highest NaCl concentrations (6 and 7 g L(-1)), we conclude that the used D. magna strain was acclimated to develop satisfactorily under concentrations of up to 6 g NaCl L(-1); however, the established salinity conditions reduced significantly reproduction and survival in this strain.

Effect of culture conditions and mother's age on the sensitivity of Daphnia magna Straus 1820 (Cladocera) neonates to hexavalent chromium.

Daphnia magna is a freshwater cladoceran used worldwide as test organism in aquatic toxicity assays. In Mexico there is a test protocol for this species; nevertheless, some aspects of the controlled neonate production, as well as the possible consequences of the reproducers' culture conditions on the response of neonates to the toxic substance, are not completely known. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of temperature and photoperiod on the acute toxicity of CrVI in D. magna neonates, aimed at providing useful information on the Median Lethal Concentration (LC50) to this heavy metal, which is used as reference toxicant in some laboratories. D. magna was cultured at 20 and 25 degrees C, in combination with two photoperiod values: 16:8 and 12:12 (light:dark) during 40 days; the green microalga Ankistrodesmus falcatus (4x10(5) cells ml(-1)) was supplied as food. Once the reproduction began, the neonates were removed and acute toxicity bioassays at 20 and 25 degrees C were performed, by exposing them to hexavalent chromium. We also determined changes in neonates' size at 20 and 25 degrees C. Chromium toxicity increased along with increasing temperatures, and LC50 values were slightly lower for the first and last clutches in the observed period, but these findings are not conclusive because of the large variability recorded. The average LC50's were 0.2076+/-0.0164 mg l(-1) (at 20 degrees C) and 0.1544+/-0.0175 mg l(-1) (at 25 degrees C). The reproducers' culture temperature had no effect on neonates' sensitivity to chromium, in spite of performing the tests at temperatures either lower or higher than those at which the neonates had been obtained. The length of neonates produced during the first two clutches (<1.25 mm) was significantly lower than that measured in neonates of following reproductions (>1.3 mm), and were smaller at 25 degrees C; however, this did not seem to affect their sensitivity to chromium.