CSIRO Land and Water, New Illawarra Rd Lucas Heights, Australia.
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, New Illawarra Rd Lucas Heights, Australia.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2019 Sep 30;180:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.03.049. Epub 2019 May 2.
There is a high demand for the development of reliable chronic toxicity tests using tropical marine species for subsequent use in tropical risk assessment. However, many chronic test endpoints can be laborious and time-consuming to assess, particularly if the endpoints require measurements of individuals (e.g. growth, size) or advanced taxonomic expertise (e.g. differentiating between larval development stages). In this study, we used scanning and image recognition (SIR) technology to develop and validate a chronic toxicity test with larvae of the tropical euryhaline copepod, Acartia sinjiensis. Optimisation steps are described, and included egg age, and effect of algal food type and salinity on toxicity. Comparisons were made between traditional endpoints measured using microscopy and those measured using SIR. Traditional endpoints of larval development ratio (LDR) and survival achieved using microscope examination and SIR were almost identical (R = 0.96-0.97). Additional endpoints made possible by SIR included larval development index (LDI; based on the number of animals at different stages of development), and a range of size measurements (e.g. surface area, perimeter and length) for individual animals and for total populations (i.e. a proxy for biomass). The SIR-derived endpoints were based on measurements that had concentration-dependant responses to tested toxicants (copper, nickel, ammonia), and were a sub-set of the full range of metrics provided by the software. Toxicity values based on SIR-measurements were similar to or more sensitive than the traditional LDR endpoint. SIR technology provides a major opportunity to improve and modernise larval development tests for a range for species, but comes at a cost of increased data size and complexity. Therefore, as a research tool, SIR has significant advantages over traditional microscope methods, but for routine toxicity testing, SIR incorporation into invertebrate toxicity testing will benefit from further improvements to the associated software and data management systems.
人们强烈希望开发使用热带海洋物种的可靠慢性毒性测试，以便随后用于热带风险评估。然而，许多慢性测试终点可能需要大量的劳力和时间来评估，特别是如果终点需要测量个体（例如生长、大小）或需要先进的分类学专业知识（例如区分幼虫发育阶段）。在这项研究中，我们使用扫描和图像识别（SIR）技术开发并验证了一种使用热带广盐桡足类动物中华哲水蚤幼虫的慢性毒性测试。描述了优化步骤，包括卵龄以及藻类食物类型和盐度对毒性的影响。将使用显微镜测量的传统终点与使用 SIR 测量的终点进行了比较。使用显微镜检查和 SIR 获得的幼虫发育比（LDR）和存活率的传统终点几乎相同（R=0.96-0.97）。SIR 实现的其他终点包括幼虫发育指数（LDI；基于不同发育阶段的动物数量）以及个体动物和总种群（即生物量的替代物）的一系列大小测量（例如表面积、周长和长度）。SIR 衍生的终点基于对测试毒物（铜、镍、氨）具有浓度依赖性反应的测量值，并且是软件提供的全部指标的一个子集。基于 SIR 测量的毒性值与传统的 LDR 终点相似或更敏感。SIR 技术为一系列物种的幼虫发育测试提供了重大改进和现代化的机会，但代价是数据量和复杂性增加。因此，作为一种研究工具，SIR 相对于传统的显微镜方法具有显著优势，但对于常规毒性测试，SIR 纳入无脊椎动物毒性测试将受益于对相关软件和数据管理系统的进一步改进。
