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Polyps of the Jellyfish Aurelia aurita Are Unaffected by Chronic Exposure to a Combination of Pesticides
Author(s) -
OlguínJacobson Carolina,
Pitt Kylie A.,
Carroll Anthony R.,
Melvin Steve D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.4750
Subject(s) - aurelia aurita , pesticide , chlorpyrifos , jellyfish , atrazine , toxicology , environmental chemistry , biology , invertebrate , chemistry , ecology
Pesticides are a major contaminant in coastal waters and can cause adverse effects in marine invertebrates such as jellyfish. Most studies have investigated short‐term responses of organisms to unrealistically high concentrations of pesticides; however, chronic exposure to persistent low concentrations, which are more likely to occur in the environment, are rarely analyzed. We tested the response of polyps of the moon jellyfish Aurelia aurita to environmental concentrations of the herbicide atrazine and the insecticide chlorpyrifos, individually and in combination, over 9 wk. We hypothesized that exposure to individual pesticides would reduce rates of asexual reproduction and alter polyps' metabolite profiles, and that the results would be more severe when polyps were exposed to the combined pesticides. Polyps survived and reproduced (through budding) in all treatments, and no differences among treatments were observed. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed no difference in profiles of polar metabolites of polyps exposed to the individual or combined pesticides. Our results suggest that A . aurita polyps are unaffected by chronic exposure to atrazine and chlorpyrifos at concentrations recommended as being protective by current Australian water quality guidelines. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1685–1692. © 2020 SETAC