title: Influence of salinity on fertilization and larval development toxicity tests with two species of sea urchin.
abstract: Sea urchin embryo-larval development (ELD) and fertilization tests have been widely used in ecotoxicity studies and are included in regulatory frameworks. Biological processes occur naturally within a range of salinity that depends on the species considered. In an attempt to determine the optimum range of salinity, ELD and fertilization bioassays were performed at different salinities (15-40.5‰) with two species of Atlantic sea urchin: Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus. In the ELD assay, the optimum range of salinity was wider for A. lixula (29-35.5‰) than for P. lividus (29-33‰). In the fertilization assay with P. lividus as a bioindicator species, the highest percentage of fertilization (90%) was obtained at salinities of between 29 and 33‰. More research on A. lixula is required, since the fertilization success was below 60%. The results of the present study demonstrate that salinity may be a confounding factor in interpreting ELD test results.
authors.affiliation: UNITWIN/UNESCO/WiCoP. Physical Chemistry Department, University of Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain. carlos.carballeira@uca.es
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carballeira
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martín-Díaz
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Delvalls
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005306:Fertilization / Q000187:drug effects*; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D054712:Salinity; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water; D012965:Sodium Chloride