Effects of atrazine on the gonads and vocal behavior of Silurana tropicalis


SOCIETY FOR INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
2021 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING (VAM)
January 3 – Febuary 28, 2021

Meeting Abstract


BSP-3-6  Sun Jan 3 15:15 – 15:30  Effects of atrazine on the gonads and vocal behavior of Silurana tropicalis Ferguson, QR*; Leininger , EC; New College of Florida ; New College of Florida quinn.ferguson16@ncf.edu

The common herbicide atrazine is a known endocrine disruptor. In the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, developmental exposure to atrazine from the tadpole stage to adulthood induces gonadal abnormalities, decreases laryngeal size, and lowers reproductive fitness. However, studies have not yet investigated how postmetamorphic juvenile atrazine exposure affects vocalizations, which are sexually dimorphic in African clawed frogs. We hypothesized that juvenile exposure to atrazine in the species Silurana tropicalis, an African clawed frog closely related to X. laevis, would feminize the vocal circuit by increasing the call inter-pulse interval or abolishing calling entirely, and decreasing laryngeal mass, as well as altering gonadal morphology. We performed two experiments, exposing juvenile S. tropicalis to either atrazine or a vehicle control from immediately after metamorphosis to maturity (Experiment 1 = 7 months, Experiment 2 = 9 months). Both experiments involved exposure to a high dose of atrazine (10 parts per billion) and a vehicle control, with the second experiment also involving exposure to a lower dose of atrazine (2.5 ppb). Males exposed to either dose of atrazine had unaltered call sound pulse rates and laryngeal masses, relative to control males. However, we detected multilobed testes in some males exposed to 10 ppb and 2.5 ppb atrazine. These results imply that juvenile exposure to tested concentrations of atrazine alters male sexual anatomy, but not the specific sexually-dimorphic behavior investigated. Future studies are required to determine whether atrazine more subtly affects vocal behavior, such as by changing the average number of calls per recording or average inter-call interval.

the Society for
Integrative &
Comparative
Biology