Influence of Temperature on the Toxic Effects of Carbamazepine on the Copepod Tigriopus fulvus: A Transgenerational Full Life Cycle Study

Abstract

Coastal areas are increasingly exposed to global warming and emerging contaminants from anthropogenic activities; however, the interactive effects of these stress factors in shaping the offspring’s vulnerability to them are poorly understood. The present study aimed to assess the influence of temperature on the toxicity of the pharmaceutical carbamazepine (CBZ) in the parental (F0) and in the first (F1) generation of Tigriopus fulvus, through a full life cycle study, measuring several biological parameters. At control temperature (20 °C), exposure to CBZ significantly inhibited larval development, especially in the F1 generation. In contrast, under warmer conditions (27 °C), even after exposure to CBZ, the development was stimulated, proving that temperature was the main factor influencing it. As regards the other investigated life traits (body length, sex ratio, and fecundity), both temperature and generation modulated toxic effects of CBZ, which is evidenced by the onset of higher alterations in F1 co-exposed copepods. Our findings suggest that temperature and contaminants could increase the long-term vulnerability to stressors of T. fulvus, potentially affecting the population structure over multiple generations of exposure.