|
(18-32) Reproductive development in Chaetogammarus marinus as a biomarker of endocrine disruptor effects. Ford, Alex*,1, Rider, Sebastien1, Fernandes, Teresa1, 1 School of Life Sciences, Edinburgh, UK ABSTRACT- Over the last decade there has been ever increasing concern that chemicals in the environment have the ability to disrupt the endocrine systems of wildlife, including humans. Also, there has been heightening awareness that our knowledge of the effects of known Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) upon invertebrates are relatively limited compared with those upon vertebrates. It is widely accepted that current toxicity tests are inadequate for the assessment of the effects of EDCs upon invertebrates, and therefore there is a need to develop further biomarkers. Investigations assessing the fecundity and reproductive success of the amphipod, Chaetogammarus marinus in the field are ongoing. This species has proved to be an ideal sentinel species for EDCs studies. C. marinus is abundant and widespread around North Eastern Europe; reproduces sexually; is sexually dimorphic; easily cultured; and has relatively fast generation times. C. marinus is intertidal inhabiting both marine and estuarine waters. Numbers of offspring produced by C. marinus, like in most Gammarids, is correlated with parental size, and the stages of embryonic development of amphipods are relatively clear and fairly well documented. Recent laboratory studies however have suggested that exposure to EDCs in crustaceans can reduce fecundity, arrest embryonic development and cause embryonic abnormalities. C. marinus were collected from sites exposed to various chemical pollutants including petrochemical and sewage effluents and reproductive development studied. This was then compared with similar studies done for a clean reference site. The use of ratios of initial fecundity and an assessment of reproductive development are discussed and evaluated as markers of EDC impact. Key words: Endocrine Disruption, Crustacean, Biomarker |
