Parental exposure to pesticides and progeny reaction norm to a biotic stress gradient in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Human-induced environmental stress may lead to rapid evolutionary processes, and can affect the ability of natural populations to respond to other environmental change or stress. We used quantitative genetics tools, pesticide exposure and a gradient of biotic stress to investigate these questions in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. The study focused on the genetic component of variance for life-history traits within populations, and the ability of different lines to respond differently to stress. The effect of parental exposure to a xenobiotic stress on the reaction norm of the progeny to another stress was also estimated (parental non-genetic effect). First, under laboratory conditions, inter-family variance suggested significant heritability for most traits. Second, under outdoor exposure to various pesticides, variation among families was significant for individual growth. Clutch size and hatching rate of the clutches laid in the laboratory after exposure showed similar results, and moreover, family interacted significantly with pesticides. Third, under a gradient of biotic stress (food and competition), inter-family variation was again significant for growth, and a significant interaction with biotic stress was observed for juvenile growth and ultimate size. Family heterogeneity and family × environment interactions indicate the possibility of differential evolutionary responses among lines, through different reaction norms. Stressful conditions did not affect the estimated heritability, and for pesticides, no transgenerational effect was detected on progeny growth in response to the biotic stress. Focused on short-term evolutionary responses, the present study illustrates a possible way of incorporating evolutionary approaches into ecotoxicological risk assessment procedures, for example, by accounting for inter-family variation.