Aurelia is a jellyfish genus common in coastal and estuarine habitats, that are typically affected by human pressures such as heavy metals contamination. Mercury is one of the most dangerous due to its high toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. In this paper, we tested for the first time the independent and combined effects of a level of mercury allowable by European regulation in force and hyposalinity on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps, mirroring a realistic scenario. Both mercury (0.07 µg/L, Maximum Allowable Concentration) and salinity (18 and 23 PSU) and the combination of the two factors stimulated the asexual reproduction increasing the number of polyps and buds during the 41 days of experiments. The increment of the asexual reproduction and the absence of suffering and mortality suggest that levels of mercury below the concentration fixed by the law and hyposalinity conditions could promote jellyfish proliferations, according to the hormesis hypothesis.

Short-term effects of environmental factors on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps / Roveta, Camilla; Annibaldi, Anna; Vagnoni, Flavio; Pulido Mantas, Torcuato; Domenichelli, Federico; Gridelli, Stefano; Puce, Stefania. - In: CHEMISTRY IN ECOLOGY. - ISSN 0275-7540. - STAMPA. - 36:5(2020), pp. 486-492. [10.1080/02757540.2020.1735375]

Short-term effects of environmental factors on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps

Roveta, Camilla;Annibaldi, Anna
;
Vagnoni, Flavio;Pulido Mantas, Torcuato;Puce, Stefania
2020-01-01

Abstract

Aurelia is a jellyfish genus common in coastal and estuarine habitats, that are typically affected by human pressures such as heavy metals contamination. Mercury is one of the most dangerous due to its high toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. In this paper, we tested for the first time the independent and combined effects of a level of mercury allowable by European regulation in force and hyposalinity on the asexual reproduction of Aurelia sp. polyps, mirroring a realistic scenario. Both mercury (0.07 µg/L, Maximum Allowable Concentration) and salinity (18 and 23 PSU) and the combination of the two factors stimulated the asexual reproduction increasing the number of polyps and buds during the 41 days of experiments. The increment of the asexual reproduction and the absence of suffering and mortality suggest that levels of mercury below the concentration fixed by the law and hyposalinity conditions could promote jellyfish proliferations, according to the hormesis hypothesis.
2020
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11566/281226
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