Evolutionary toxicology by anthropogenic pollution in invasive crayfish populations

Project Information

EvoTox

Grant agreement ID: 101023801

DOI

10.3030/101023801

Project closed

EC signature date 4 May 2021

Start date 11 October 2021

End date 10 October 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 196 707,84

EU contribution

€ 196 707,84

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EvoTox (Evolutionary toxicology by anthropogenic pollution in invasive crayfish populations)

Reporting period: 2021-10-11 to 2023-10-10

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The “EvoTox” PROJECT
Climate change is a major scientific challenge and has gradually led to biodiversity loss over the last decades. This in turn has opened up opportunities to invasive alien species (IAS) to establish in new environments, and altogether causing ecological, economic and social repercussions. Little is known about the mechanisms that increase the invasive capacity of species. Recently, a growing body of examples has evidence the link between invasive species and rapid evolution, which provides some species with a better biological response to deal with environmental stress, and to perform better in all kind of environments, including environments with chemical pollution. However, evolutionary changes are still not taken in consideration in Invasive Species Predictive Schemes and risk assessments, which affects the predictive power of the schemes and complicate their evaluation. The awareness of the potential of organisms to adapt to environmental toxicants dates back to early 20th century, however, the view of evolution as a contemporary process that can effect change from one generation to the next has only recently been consider. In this context, the EvoTox project addressed the link between invasive species and rapid evolution in polluted environments by testing pollutants as a driver for rapid evolution, using a multidisciplinary and innovative approach. In EvoTox, we used molecular methods and physiological, morphological and behavioural analyses. This comprehensive approach was essential for drawing a more accurate picture of the impacts of chemical pollutants on populations and ecosystems.

Conclusions
In the EvoTox project population-specific phenotypic responses were identified in P. clarkii when individuals from polluted and pristine environments were exposed to a pesticide cocktail at sublethal concentrations in a laboratory setup, suggesting local adaptation at the population level. Our results evidenced that local adaptation and plasticity within each population play a key role in the physiological and phenotypic response to environmental stress. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of taking in consideration rapid evolution and population-specific responses for Invasive Species Predictive Schemes and risk assessments.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Within the Work package 1 we provided an insight into the physiological state and behaviour of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii from three ecologically diverse sites in the South of France (The Regional Park of the Camargue, The Bages-Sigean and the Salagou lake).

Within the Work package 2 we proved that the genetic diversity of the studied populations differed and, the Camargue population has lowest genetic diversity.

Within the Work package 3 we discovered that the studied populations have contrasting responses to laboratory pollution exposure at different levels: 1) redox homeostasis, 2) hydro-osmotic balance, 3) protease activity in the hepatopancreas, 4) detoxifying enzyme activities, and 5) differential expression of genes. Furthermore, we found that the level of alternative splicing is 4 times higher in those populations exposed to constant pollution.

The results derived from this project have resulted in 3 scientific publications that are in process of being published in scientific peer review journals, one is currently in “under review”, one to be submitted and, one more in preparation.

Presentation at International Congresses.
Results of the project were additionally presented in 7 international congress, 2 invited talks and 1 internal presentation within our institute.

Communication of findings to the community
During the duration of the project, we engaged in activities aiming to maximize the dissemination and communication of the activities and the findings to the public in general. An example of this was our participation to the event “Science is Wonderful” organized by the European Commission. In the course of this event, we shared our passion and curiosity for our research with around 4000 pupils from all over Belgium. Also, social media such as LinkedIn was regularly updated to reach the scientific and non-scientific communities. Furthermore, a project website was created and the link was added to all official and published documents, emails, presentations, etc., during the course of this project, see https://www.martinez-alarcon.com/evotox.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The results of EvoTox helped to achieve the principal objective of the project, which was bringing a step forward in the state of the art of invasive species and their adaptation mechanism to different environments. This project has increased the knowledge of the evolutionary and biological processes behind the successful adaptation of one of the most invasive crustacean’s species in aquatic environments, the crayfish Procambarus clarkii, particularly by highlighting the mechanisms that facilitate its adaptation in environments with chemical contamination.

The potential impact of the results is diverse and can include but is not limited to:
o Lay the foundation for further scientific research in the populations-specific responses of Invasive Alien Species (IAS).
o Influence environmental and political decisions on the use of pesticides and control of IAS.
o Leads to novel strategies for the control of IAS and therefore impact in a positive manner the society in general.
o Potentially contribute to the program on biodiversity conservation, the ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030’, which intends to address the threat that IAS represent in Europe.
o Potentially contribute to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (agreed at COP 15), which outlined the global targets for urgent action over the decade to 2030. One of the first targets of the framework is to “eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species.”
o To increase awareness in the general population about the impacts of IAS can represent on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

EvoTox Logo