title: Sub-lethal effects of Roundup™ on tadpole anti-predator responses.
abstract: Roundup™ is a commonly used pesticide applied to agriculture and forest habitats. These areas are generally ideal for amphibians due to the presence of small, ephemeral water bodies. While Roundup™ has been shown to have lethal effects on many species of amphibians, effects on behaviour and sensory perception have yet to be considered. Here, we exposed wood frog tadpoles to a sub-lethal concentration of Roundup™ and showed that the ability of tadpoles to respond to injured conspecific cues, an important source of information regarding local predation risk, was impaired. Subsequent experiments revealed that impaired responses likely result from a chemical reaction between the Roundup™ and the cues and that tadpoles chronically exposed to Roundup™ had reduced basal movement rates compared with unexposed tadpoles. Our data demonstrate that environmentally-relevant concentrations of Roundup™ can drastically alter movement and anti-predator responses of tadpoles, with potential negative consequences for the population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5B4.
authors.forename: Harrison
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 1E2.
authors.forename: Douglas P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Chivers
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, WCVM, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5B4. Electronic address: maud.ferrari@usask.ca.
authors.forename: Maud C O
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ferrari
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects*; D005998:Glycine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D009068:Movement; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D011898:Ranidae / Q000254:growth & development*; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D000097797:Glyphosate
chemical_list: D005998:Glycine; D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D000097797:Glyphosate
keywords: Alarm cues; Amphibian decline; Ecotoxicology; Injured conspecific cues; Predation; Risk assessment; Roundup™; Sub-lethal effects; Tadpole