Chronic pesticide exposure elicits a subtle carry-over effect on the metabolome of Aurelia coerulea ephyrae

Chemical pollutants, such as pesticides, often leach into aquatic environments and impact non-target organisms. Marine invertebrates have complex life cycles with multiple life-history stages. Exposure to pesticides during one life-history stage potentially influences subsequent stages; a process known as a carry-over effect. Here, we investigated carry-over effects on the jellyfish Aurelia coerulea. We exposed polyps to individual and combined concentrations of atrazine (2.5 μg/L) and chlorpyrifos (0.04 μg/L) for four weeks, after which they were induced to strobilate. The resultant ephyrae were then redistributed and exposed to either the same conditions as their parent-polyps or to filtered seawater to track potential carry-over effects. The percentage of deformities, ephyrae size, pulsation and respiration rates, as well as the metabolic profile of the ephyrae, were measured. We detected a subtle carry-over effect in two metabolites, acetoacetate and glycerophosphocholine, which are precursors of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, important for energy metabolism and osmoregulation of the ephyrae. Although these carry-over effects were not reflected in the other response variables in the short-term, a persistent reduction of these two metabolites could have negative physiological consequences on A. coerulea jellyfish in the long-term. Our results highlight the importance of considering more than one life-history stage in ecotoxicology, and measuring a range of variables with different sensitivities to detect sub-lethal effects caused by anthropogenic stressors. Furthermore, since we identified few effects when using pesticides concentrations corresponding to Australian water quality guidelines, we suggest that future studies consider concentrations detected in the environment, which are higher than the water quality guidelines, to obtain a more realistic scenario by possible risk from pesticide exposure.