Modulation of sex ratios in Daphnia magna following multigenerational exposure to sewage treatment plant effluents

The influence of sewage treatment plant effluents on sex ratios in Daphnia magna was investigated. Female daphnids were acclimated for several generations to effluents from a municipal sewage treatment plant and a residential oxidation lagoon and then placed under conditions to maximize male offspri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 2009-07, Vol.72 (5), p.1545-1550
Main Authors: Baer, K.N., McCoole, M.D., Overturf, M.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Animals
Daphnia - drug effects
Daphnia - growth & development
Daphnia magna
Effluents
Female
Fertility - drug effects
Freshwater
Industrial Waste - adverse effects
Lagoons
Male
Males
Methyl farnesoate
Modulation
Molting - drug effects
MSTPs
Multigenerational
Oxidation
Population Density
Residential
Sewage - adverse effects
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment plant effluent
Sex
Sex Ratio
Sex ratios
Sexual Maturation - drug effects
STPs
Water Pollutants, Chemical - adverse effects
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Summary:The influence of sewage treatment plant effluents on sex ratios in Daphnia magna was investigated. Female daphnids were acclimated for several generations to effluents from a municipal sewage treatment plant and a residential oxidation lagoon and then placed under conditions to maximize male offspring production. Both effluents resulted in a statistically significant decrease in male production and a shift in male broods from earlier broods to later broods near the end of the adult life cycle. For example, sex ratios in control daphnids ranged from 0.43 to 0.67 in broods 3–4 compared with 0.0–0.13 in daphnids exposed to the residential oxidation lagoon. Secondary sexual characteristics of both sexes were statistically significantly increased by the sewage lagoon effluent but not the municipal effluent. These preliminary results suggest that alteration in timing of sexual determination due to exposure to sewage treatment plant effluents could severely impact the survival of daphnid populations.
ISSN:0147-6513
1090-2414
DOI:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2008.12.007