Autor(es):
Leitão, João
; Ribeiro, R.
; Soares, Amadeu M. V. M
; Lopes, I.
Data: 2013
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10316/25679
Origem: Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra
Descrição
Considering IPPC climate change scenarios, it is pertinent to predict situations where coastal ecosystems already impacted
with chemical contamination became exposed to an additional stressor under a future scenario of seawater intrusion.
Accordingly, the present study aimed at evaluating if a negative association between tolerance to a metal and to saltwater
exists among genotypes of a freshwater organism. For this, five clonal lineages of the cladoceran Daphnia longispina O.F.
Mu¨ ller, exhibiting a differential tolerance to lethal levels of copper, were selected. Each clonal lineage was exposed to lethal
and sublethal concentrations of sodium chloride (assumed as a protective surrogate to evaluate the toxicity of increased
salinity to freshwater organisms). Mortality, time to release the first brood and total number of neonates per female were
monitored and the somatic growth rate and intrinsic rate of natural increase were computed for each clonal lineage. Data
here obtained were compared with their lethal responses to copper and significant negative correlations were found. These
results suggest that genetically eroded populations of D. longispina, due to copper or salinity, may be particularly
susceptible to a later exposure to the other contaminant supporting the multiple stressors differential tolerance. This work has been developed under the scope of the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT, Portugal) through FSE and POPH funds (Programa Ciencia
2007), and FEDER through COMPETE-programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (research project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014016; PTDC/AAC-CLI/
111706/2009).