Abstract：
The long-term impacts of radiocontaminants (and the associated risks) for ecosystems are still subject to vast societal and scientific debate while wildlife is chronically exposed to various sources and levels of either environmental or anthropogenic ionizing radiation from the use of nuclear energy. The present study aimed to assess induced phenotypical responses in both male and female gammarids after short-term continuous γ-irradiation, acting as a typical well-characterized genotoxic stressor that can interact directly with living matter. In particular, we started characterizing the effects using standardized measurements for biological effects on few biological functions for this species, especially feeding inhibition tests, molting, and reproductive ability, which have already been proven for chemical substances and are likely to be disturbed by ionizing radiation. The results show no significant differences in terms of the survival of organisms (males and females), of their short-term food consumption which is linked to the general health status (males and females), and of the molting cycle (females). In contrast, exposure significantly affected fecundity (number of embryos produced) at the highest dose rates for irradiated females (51 mGy h-1) and males (5 and 51 mGy h-1). These results showed that, in gammarids, reproduction, which is a critical endpoint for population dynamics, is the most radiosensitive phenotypic endpoint, with significant effects recorded on male reproductive capacity, which is more sensitive than in females. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1-9. © 2024 SETAC.
摘要：
放射性污染物对生态系统的长期影响（以及相关风险）仍然受到广泛的社会和科学辩论，而野生动植物则长期暴露于各种来源和使用核能产生的环境或人为电离辐射的水平。本研究旨在评估短期连续γ射线照射后雄性和雌性gammarids的诱导表型反应，作为典型的特征良好的基因毒性应激源，可以直接与生物相互作用。特别是,我们开始使用标准化的生物效应测量来表征该物种对少数生物学功能的影响，尤其是摄食抑制试验,蜕皮,和生殖能力，已经被证明是化学物质，并且很可能受到电离辐射的干扰。结果表明，在生物（雄性和雌性）的存活方面没有显着差异，他们的短期食物消费与总体健康状况(男性和女性)相关，和蜕皮周期（雌性）。相比之下,对于受辐照的雌性（51mGyh-1）和雄性（5和51mGyh-1），暴露以最高剂量率显着影响繁殖力（产生的胚胎数量）。这些结果表明,在gammarids中，繁殖，这是人口动态的关键终点，是对辐射最敏感的表型终点，对男性生殖能力有显著影响，比女性更敏感。环境毒物化学2024；00：1-9。©2024SETAC。
