Intersexuality in aquatic invertebrates: Prevalence and causes

Grilo, Tiago F.; Rosa, Rui

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.099

Cited by 40 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…In support of this interpretation, we found more incidences of intersex at sites that receive cooling water (Additional file 1: Material S4). Biocides are suspected to disturb the hormone balance between androgens and estrogens and facilitate development of both, male and female characteristics at the same time; however, the biochemical pathways that induce intersex are diverse and still remain controversial [106, 150]. Moreover, contaminants of both natural (e.g., from nitrogenous waste products or soil erosion [109]) and anthropogenic origin (e.g., effluents from wastewater treatment plants and agriculture [151–153]) accumulate towards downstream sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale phenotypic differentiation along complex stream gradients in a non-native amphipod

et al. 2019

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Background Selective landscapes in rivers are made up by an array of selective forces that vary from source to downstream regions or between seasons, and local/temporal variation in fitness maxima can result in gradual spatio-temporal variation of phenotypic traits. This study aimed at establishing freshwater amphipods as future model organisms to study adaptive phenotypic diversification (evolutionary divergence and/or adaptive plasticity) along stream gradients. Methods We collected Gammarus roeselii from 16 sampling sites in the Rhine catchment during two consecutive seasons (summer and winter). Altogether, we dissected n = 1648 individuals and quantified key parameters related to morphological and life-history diversification, including naturally selected (e.g., gill surface areas) as well as primarily sexually selected traits (e.g., male antennae). Acknowledging the complexity of selective regimes in streams and the interrelated nature of selection factors, we assessed several abiotic (e.g., temperature, flow velocity) and biotic ecological parameters (e.g., conspecific densities, sex ratios) and condensed them into four principal components (PCs). Results Generalized least squares models revealed pronounced phenotypic differentiation in most of the traits investigated herein, and components of the stream gradient (PCs) explained parts of the observed differences. Depending on the trait under investigation, phenotypic differentiation could be ascribed to variation in abiotic conditions, anthropogenic disturbance (influx of thermally polluted water), or population parameters. For example, female fecundity showed altitudinal variation and decreased with increasing conspecific densities, while sexual dimorphism in the length of male antennae—used for mate finding and assessment—increased with increasing population densities and towards female-biased sex ratios. Conclusions We provide a comprehensive protocol for comparative analyses of intraspecific variation in life history traits in amphipods. Whether the observed phenotypic differentiation over small geographical distances reflects evolutionary divergence or plasticity (or both) remains to be investigated in future studies. Independent of the mechanisms involved, variation in several traits is likely to have consequences for ecosystem functions. For example, leaf-shredding in G. roeselii strongly depends on body size, which varied in dependence of several ecological parameters. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12983-019-0327-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale phenotypic differentiation along complex stream gradients in a non-native amphipod

et al. 2019

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“…In wildlife, EDCs are suspected in the decline of certain species (e.g., possible increased sterility in the American alligator), change of sex in fish and shellfish, and other problems [193][194][195][196]. In fact, some pesticides (thiocarbamates, chlororganics, imidazoles, triazoles, triazines) determine an antiandrogenic action, highlighted by the changes in macroscopic sexual findings in aquatic animals (particularly for exposure to herbicides and fungicides) such as the demasculinization in rats and fish [197], the production of estrogens and hermaphroditism in frogs [198], and other developmental disorders of the male gonad in alligators [199].…”

Section: Effect On Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds: An Overview on Their Occurrence in the Aquatic Environment and Human Exposure

Pironti

Ricciardi

Proto

et al. 2021

Water

144

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Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) as emerging contaminants have accumulated in the aquatic environment at concentration levels that have been determined to be significant to humans and animals. Several compounds belong to this family, from natural substances (hormones such as estrone, 17β-estradiol, and estriol) to synthetic chemicals, especially pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and plastic-derived compounds (phthalates, bisphenol A). In this review, we discuss recent works regarding EDC occurrence in the aquatic compartment, strengths and limitations of current analytical methods used for their detection, treatment technologies for their removal from water, and the health issues that they can trigger in humans. Nowadays, many EDCs have been identified in significant amounts in different water matrices including drinking water, thus increasing the possibility of entering the food chain. Several studies correlate human exposure to high concentrations of EDCs with serious effects such as infertility, thyroid dysfunction, early puberty, endometriosis, diabetes, and obesity. Although our intention is not to explain all disorders related to EDCs exposure, this review aims to guide future research towards a deeper knowledge of EDCs’ contamination and accumulation in water, highlighting their toxicity and exposure risks to humans.

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“…Referring to organ, an ovotestis or syngonic is becoming an increasingly common feature in the reproductive anatomy on invertebrates (Davison, 2006), which occurs in a wide range of taxa, but mainly to Phylum Mollusca (ubiquitous), Arthropoda (rare) and in lesser degree to Echinodermata (almost absent, even more absent to echinoids) (Ghiselin, 1969;Hoagland, 1978Hoagland, , 1984Allsop and West, 2004;Ford et al, 2008). Now referring to sexuality, the simultaneous presence of both male and female traits (gametes) in the same individual (gonad) of any species that is gonochoric during all their life refers to intersexuality and its variants (e.g., hermaphroditism) (Grilo and Rosa, 2017). Sexuality can be linked to both invertebrate systematics and to environment; thus some invertebrate taxa appear to be exclusively or predominantly hermaphroditic, e.g.…”

Section: (With 1 Figure)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although causes and prevalence to intersexuality are unknown, some multifaceted aspects emerge mostly linked with environmental contamination by estrogenic and organotin endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), parasitism, and genetic/environmental sex determination abnormalities (Grilo and Rosa, 2017).…”

Section: (With 1 Figure)mentioning

confidence: 99%

An ovotestis event in the gonochoric sea urchin Loxechinus albus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

Olivares

Avila-Poveda

2019

Braz. J. Biol.

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Intersexuality in aquatic invertebrates: Prevalence and causes

Cited by 40 publications

References 151 publications

Small-scale phenotypic differentiation along complex stream gradients in a non-native amphipod

Small-scale phenotypic differentiation along complex stream gradients in a non-native amphipod

Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds: An Overview on Their Occurrence in the Aquatic Environment and Human Exposure

An ovotestis event in the gonochoric sea urchin Loxechinus albus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

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