Intraspecific diversity is critical to population-level risk assessments.

ABSTRACT: Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is critical for protecting life by predicting population responses to contaminants. However, routine toxicity testing often examines only one genotype from surrogate species, potentially leading to inaccurate risk assessments, as natural populations typically consist of genetically diverse individuals. To evaluate the importance of intraspecific variation in translating toxicity testing to natural populations, we quantified the magnitude of phenotypic variation between 20 Daphnia magna clones exposed to two levels of microcystins, a cosmopolitan cyanobacterial toxin. We observed significant genetic variation in survival, growth, and reproduction, which increased under microcystins exposure. Simulations of survival showed that using a single genotype for

SUBMITTER: Shahmohamadloo RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11519591 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature