Exposure to Plasticiser DEHP Affects Eggs Spawned by Blue Mussels: A Possible Risk to Fertilisation?

The endocrine disruptive chemical DEHP is a plasticiser often found in marine waters. Here, we assessed the effect of this additive on the number and size of eggs spawned by female mussels during a synchronised spawning event. After achieving the ripeness of the gonads, mussels of both sexes were exposed to two environmentally relevant concentrations of DEHP (nominal concentrations 0.5 and 50 µg/L) for one week. A spawning event was then induced and eggs were collected, counted, and their size measured (area and diameter). A slight but not significant effect was observed in lowering the number of eggs spawned when increasing the DEHP concentration. This effect was greater when adding spent gonads (possibly fully spawned females) to the total number of females. A significant effect of the lower dose on the average egg sizes was noticed, with a smaller area and diameter measured with respect to the control and the higher concentrated treatments. These results once again underline the importance for ecotoxicological studies to address the nonlinear dose-response effects of endocrine disruptive chemicals environmentally present at concentrations in the order of just a few µg/L that could not elicit a strong defence mechanism at low levels and be absorbed by filter feeder animals such as mussels.