Abstract
Ecotoxicity tests have been useful to guide regulatory decisions for pollution control to prevent adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. Routine assays are based on acute or sub-chronic exposures and may be inadequate for detecting a reproductive impairment after long-term exposure to low concentrations of pollutants. To help adress this gap was proposed a mutigeneration method to evaluate the effects of chemicals on the reproduction of Biomphalaria tenagophila snail. Chemicals tested include two environmental pollutants, the pesticide endosulfan and the industrial chemical nonylphenol ethoxylate. Adult snails (10 per concentration) were individually exposed to non acutely lethal concentrations for two generations. Endpoints evaluated include: survival, fecundity and embrionic development. Results showed that some adverse effects on reproduction were observed only after continuous exposure lasting longer than one generation. A comparative analysis with results of classic short-term chronic tests show that the multigeneration study designed seems to be a sensitive approach to evaluate chronic effects of environmental pollutants.
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