Aquatic ecotoxicology: native freshwater gastropods from Argentina

COSSI, P.; KRISTOFF, G.; HERBERT, L.; BOBURG, B.

Ecotoxicology in Latin America

Nova Science Publishers

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2017; p. 23 - 37

The increasing worldwide contamination of freshwater systems with a wide range of chemical compounds is one of the key environmental problems facing humanity nowadays. These contaminants, such as pesticides, disturb the environment and can have a great impact on the species that inhabit it. Traditionally, environmental monitoring programs were based on detecting and determining the concentration of compounds previously identified as hazardous. However, this does not necessarily reflect the actual impact on environments. Lately, programs have included bioassays and sensitive biomarkers as effective tools to obtain an integrated overview of aquatic ecotoxicology. Our research group aims to study whether environmental concentrations of toxic compounds used in Argentina and detected in its watercourses can produce effects on native gastropods, using bioassays. The research lines of the group involve the native freshwater snails Biomphalaria straminea, widely distributed in northeastern Argentina, and Chilina gibbosa, endemic to freshwaters of the Argentine Patagonia. Our foundational studies are focused on the organophosphate pesticide azinphos-methyl, which has been detected in freshwater courses at concentrations higher than those recommended for aquatic life protection. We found distinctly different sublethal effects after acute and subchronic exposures to environmental concentrations in both species. Whilst the response of B. straminea triggers a detailed study of subchronic effects, C. gibbosa might allow us to postulate it as a sentinel species. Furthermore, our results contribute with a wide range of biomarker information in native gastropods, proposed sentinel species and data to reassess contaminant guide levels for aquatic life protection.