Alleviation of mercury toxicity to a marine copepod under multigenerational exposure by ocean acidification.
Ocean acidification (OA) may potentially modify the responses of aquatic organisms to other environmental stressors including metals. In this study, we investigated the effects of near-future OA (pCO21000 μatm) and mercury (Hg) on the development and reproduction of marine copepod Tigriopus japonicus under multigenerational life-cycle exposure. Metal accumulation as well as seven life history traits (survival rate, sex ratio, developmental time from nauplius to copepodite, developmental time from nauplius to adult, number of clutches, number of nauplii/clutch and fecundity) was quantified for each generation. Hg exposure alone evidently suppressed the number of nauplii/clutch, whereas single OA exposure negligibly affected the seven traits of copepods. However, OA exposure significantly alleviated the Hg inhibitory effects on number of nauplii/clutch and fecundity, which could be explained by the reduced Hg accumulation under OA. Such combined exposure also significantly shortened the development time. Thus, in contrast to earlier findings for other toxic metals, this study demonstrated that OA potentially mitigated the Hg toxicity to some important life traits in marine copepods during multigenerational exposure.
Center for Marine Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, College of the Environment & Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.|Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.
Yan
Y
Li
Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China.|Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Wen-Xiong
WX
Wang
Center for Marine Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, College of the Environment & Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China. mhwang45@xmu.edu.cn.|Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China. mhwang45@xmu.edu.cn.
Minghua
M
Wang
D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D033342:Copepoda / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005298:Fertility; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D012744:Sex Ratio; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury