Metal stress in zooplankton diapause production: post-hatching response

Aquatic organisms commonly respond to harsh conditions by forming diapausing stages, which enable populations to survive adverse periods forming egg banks. Production of diapausing eggs is frequently observed in monogonont rotifers, previously changing from asexual to partial sexual reproduction (mixis). In despite that zooplankton are frequently used in ecotoxicological assessment because of their sensitivity to various toxicants and their important role in the ecosystems, toxicity evaluations often consider the directly exposed population produced by parthenogenetic reproduction, exclusively. We assessed experimentally effects of exposure to metals on mixis delay and fitness of hatchlings of the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis obtained from a brackish water lagoon with high metal content, especially copper. We show that sub-lethal concentrations of copper affected traits related to sexual reproduction and diapausing egg production in the rotifer. Copper addition did not delay the start of mixis, suggesting that rapid initiation of mixis is promoted in risky environments, according to the hypothesis of mixis as an escape strategy. Higher investment in mixis was obtained when individuals were exposed to metal. Addition of copper negatively affected the hatching success of diapausing eggs and performance of hatchlings. Nevertheless, these effects were greater for individuals formed in non-metal conditions, suggesting an adaptive advantage of populations from natural sediments exposed to copper. These results highlight the ecological and evolutionary consequences of the presence of metals in freshwater environments by modulating diapause adaptive efficacy and the selective process in egg banks.