Effects of Desalination and the Detergent Sodium Dodecylsulphate on the Early Development of the Sand Dollar Scaphechinus mirabilis

Abstract

We studied the effects of reduced water salinity on early ontogenesis in the sea urchin Scapechinus mirabilis. It is shown that the lower limit of salinity tolerance for the embryos and larvae is the salinity of 28‰. Under the mutual effects of desalination and sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS), an addition of 0.1 mg/l of the detergent to water with a salinity of 28‰ caused disturbances in the development of the larvae, starting from the stage of blastula. Desalination of the water down to 22‰ with the presence of SDS exerts significant effects already at the stage of fertilization. The mass death of embryos (73%) was observed at the stage of the first cleavage. The increase in the concentration of SDS up to 1 mg/l in water with a salinity of 28 to 22‰ caused an increase in the percentage of abnormal embryos and larvae from 40 up to 100%.