Effect of 17β-estradiol on life history parameters and morphological deformities in tigriopus japonicus sensu lato: A two-generation studies

Abstract

To characterize ecotoxicological responses to a natural estrogen, 17β-estradiol, we evaluated the life-history of the parental (F0) and first generation (F1) of the harpacticoid copepod, Tigriopus japonicus sensu lato. We evaluated the survival of nauplii and copepodites, the number of days until the emergence of copepodites and adult males, the sex ratio, brooding success, and the first brooding day of adult females. No significant differences in the survival rate were noted in response to treatments with different concentrations of 17β-estradiol. However, 17β-estradiol induced developmental delay and skewed the sex ratio toward males. Copepod development was delayed significantly in the 0.1 and 1 μg l1 17β-estradiol treatment groups relative to the control group, with a more pronounced delay in the F1 group. Body length and biomass were significantly smaller in the 17β-estradiol treated groups than in the controls. The male emergence of T. japonicus s.l. was very high in the 10 and 30 μg l1 17β-estradiol treatment group. Furthermore, exposure to 17β-estradiol resulted in morphological deformities such as shrinking and swelling of the urosome, twisted setae of the caudal rami, setal loss of swimming legs, abnormal segmentation of antennules, and dwarfism.