Low concentrations, potential ecological consequences: Synthetic estrogens alter life-history and demographic structures of aquatic invertebrates.

SOUZA, M.S.; HALLGREN, P.; BALSEIRO, E.G.; HANSSON, L-A.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 178 p. 237 - 243

0269-7491

Contraceptive drugs are nowadays found in aquatic environments around the globe. Particularly, 17aethinylestradiol(EE2) may act even at low concentrations, such as those recorded in natural ecosystems.We evaluated the physiological effects of EE2 on cyclopoids and calanoids, common copepods in bothmarine and freshwater communities. We used three EE2 concentrations and assessed its impact on activityof different physiological endpoints: Acetylcholinesterase (neurotransmission), GlutathioneS-transferase (detoxifying system), and Caspase-3 (apoptosis). While EE2 exerts, distinctive effect ondetoxifying and apoptotic systems, no effect on AChE was observed at environmental doses. Our resultsshow that EE2 exposure affects differently copepod physiology endpoints, altering moulting process,adult recruitment in calanoids and calanoid to cyclopoid ratio. The ecological consequences of this underlyingphysiological process may affect since life history to population and community structures, andthis represent a new aspects of this xenobiotic in natural systems.