Effects on life history variables and population dynamics following maternal metal exposure in the live-bearing fish Gambusia affinis

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of maternal copper and maternal cadmium exposure on life history variables and population dynamics in a live-bearing fish species. Gravid females were exposed to copper, cadmium, or background metal levels (control); maternal transfer of the metals was previously demonstrated using the exact same design. Each female's first brood, born after the exposure, was subdivided into two groups. One group was raised in the laboratory, to assess time-to and size-at sexual maturity, reproductive output and other life history variables. Offspring from the other group were used to start four mesocosm populations for each treatment. These populations were sampled monthly, for about 18 months, to assess population dynamics. For the laboratory-reared fish, offspring of copper-exposed females reached sexual maturity at a smaller size than did offspring from the other treatments. Maternal copper exposure and maternal cadmium exposure both resulted in fewer broods and an increase in gestation time. No impacts were detected for brood size, inter-brood interval, time-to-sexual-maturity, or life span. In the greenhouse population study, no effect of maternal copper or cadmium exposure was evident for population parameters, other than that the relative abundance of juveniles and/or newborns was reduced in populations established with offspring of the exposed females. This study provided evidence that a short-term metal exposure of gravid females can negatively affect their offspring's life history variables and potentially influence population dynamics in a life-bearing fish species.