Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.0c07839
Document accepted manuscript
Title (Primary) Chemical pollution levels in a river explain site-specific sensitivities to micropollutants within a genetically homogeneous population of freshwater amphipods
Author Švara, V.; Krauss, M. ORCID logo ; Michalski, S.G.; Altenburger, R.; Brack, W.; Luckenbach, T. ORCID logo
Source Titel Environmental Science & Technology
Year 2021
Department BIOTOX; BZF; WANA
Volume 55
Issue 9
Page From 6087
Page To 6096
Language englisch
Topic T9 Healthy Planet
T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c07839?goto=supporting-info
Keywords water pollution; organic micropollutant; freshwater ecosystem; aquatic species; genetic structure; Gammarus pulex
Abstract Anthropogenic micropollutants alter chemical and ecological conditions of freshwater ecosystems and impact aquatic species that live along the pollution gradient of a river. Species sensitivity to micropollutants depends on the site-specific exposure; however, it remains unclear to what degree this sensitivity relates to the species’ genetic structure. Here, we explored the relationship between the toxic sensitivity and genetic structure of the amphipod species Gammarus pulex (Linnaeus, 1758) along an organic micropollutant gradient in the Holtemme River in central Germany. We determined the river’s site-specific micropollutant patterns and analyzed the genetic structure of G. pulex using nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers. Furthermore, we examined the exposure sensitivities and bioaccumulation of the commonly detected insecticide imidacloprid in G. pulex from different sites. Our results show that throughout the Holtemme River, G. pulex forms a well-connected and homogeneous population with no observable pollution-related differences in the genetic structure. However, G. pulex from polluted sites responded more sensitively to imidacloprid; survival times for half of the amphipods were up to 54% shorter, the percentage of immobile individuals increased up to 65%, and the modeled imidacloprid depuration rate was lower in comparison to amphipods from non-polluted sites. Altogether, these results suggest that the level of sensitivity of G. pulex amphipods to micropollutants in the river depends on the degree of pollution: amphipods may thrive in food-rich but polluted habitats; yet, their sensitivity is increased when chronically exposed to organic micropollutants.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=24475
Švara, V., Krauss, M., Michalski, S.G., Altenburger, R., Brack, W., Luckenbach, T. (2021):
Chemical pollution levels in a river explain site-specific sensitivities to micropollutants within a genetically homogeneous population of freshwater amphipods
Environ. Sci. Technol. 55 (9), 6087 - 6096 10.1021/acs.est.0c07839