Consumption of toxic cyanobacteria by Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia) and consequences on life traits and microcystin accumulation

Among the wide range of toxins produced by cyanobacterial blooms, microcystins (MCs) are the most common and are known to accumulate in aquatic organisms. Freshwater gastropods are grazers and likely to ingest toxic cyanobacteria, particularly Planktothrix agardhii, one of the most common species in the northern hemisphere. The study examines (i) the ingestion of toxic P. agardhii by the prosobranch Potamopyrgus antipodarum, (ii) the kinetics of MC accumulation and depuration in snail tissues during and post-exposure, and (iii) the impact of MCs on their life traits (survival, growth and fecundity). We showed that P. antipodarum ingested 71% of cyanobacteria available during the first 24 h in the presence or not of non-toxic food, and accumulated 1.3% of ingested MCs during the 5-week intoxication period. Elimination of MCs was total after 3 weeks of depuration. A decrease of growth and fecundity was observed during the intoxication period, but it was reversible after the end of exposure. Results are discussed in terms of variation of the response between prosobranch and pulmonate gastropods to toxic cyanobacteria exposure, and the negative impact of toxic cyanobacteria on natural communities of freshwater gastropods.