No observable effect of a glyphosate-based herbicide on two top predators of temporal water bodies.
It has been implied that the application of pesticides is involved in the world-wide decline of biodiversity, but little is known about the influence of these chemicals on key predators of temporary wetlands. The direct impacts were examined of a frequently applied glyphosate-based herbicide on larval Aeshna cyanea (Müller, 1764; Odonata, Insecta) and adult male Lissotriton vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758; Caudata, Amphibia), 2 top predators of Central European ephemeral ponds. The effects of herbicide exposure were measured on survival, behavior, body mass change, and predatory activity in an outdoor mesocosm experiment lasting for 17 d. No significant effects of exposure were observed in either predator species. The results suggest that the herbicide has no immediate effect on the predators studied at environmentally relevant concentrations and that these predators can also fulfill their top-down regulatory role in contaminated ecosystems.
Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
János
J
Ujszegi
Zoltán
Z
Gál
Zsanett
Z
Mikó
Attila
A
Hettyey
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005998:Glycine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity*; D006814:Hungary; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D063191:Odonata / Q000187:drug effects*; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D012455:Salamandridae / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D053833:Wetlands; D000097797:Glyphosate
D005998:Glycine; D006540:Herbicides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000097797:Glyphosate
Aeshna cyanea; Amphibians; Aquatic invertebrates; Aquatic toxicology; Lissotriton vulgaris