Dataset Information

Terrestrial pesticide exposure of amphibians: an underestimated cause of global decline?

ABSTRACT: Amphibians, a class of animals in global decline, are present in agricultural landscapes characterized by agrochemical inputs. Effects of pesticides on terrestrial life stages of amphibians such as juvenile and adult frogs, toads and newts are little understood and a specific risk assessment for pesticide exposure, mandatory for other vertebrate groups, is currently not conducted. We studied the effects of seven pesticide products on juvenile European common frogs (Rana temporaria) in an agricultural overspray scenario. Mortality ranged from 100% after one hour to 40% after seven days at the recommended label rate of currently registered products. The demonstrated toxicity is alarming and a large-scale negative effect of terrestrial pesticide exposure on amphibian populations seems likely. Terrestrial pesticide exposure might be underestimated as a driver of their decline calling for more attention in conservation efforts and the risk assessment procedures in place do not protect this vanishing animal group.

SUBMITTER: Bruhl CA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3553602 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Terrestrial pesticide exposure of amphibians: an underestimated cause of global decline?

Brühl Carsten A CA Schmidt Thomas T Pieper Silvia S Alscher Annika A

Scientific reports 20130124

Amphibians, a class of animals in global decline, are present in agricultural landscapes characterized by agrochemical inputs. Effects of pesticides on terrestrial life stages of amphibians such as juvenile and adult frogs, toads and newts are little understood and a specific risk assessment for pesticide exposure, mandatory for other vertebrate groups, is currently not conducted. We studied the effects of seven pesticide products on juvenile European common frogs (Rana temporaria) in an agricul ...[more]

PMID: 23350038

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Project description:Because ecosystems throughout the globe are contaminated with pesticides, there is a need to understand how natural populations cope with pesticides and the implications for ecological interactions. From an evolutionary perspective, there is evidence that pesticide tolerance can be achieved via two mechanisms: selection for constitutive tolerance over multiple generations or by inducing tolerance within a single generation via phenotypic plasticity. While both mechanisms can allow organisms to persist in contaminated environments, they might result in different performance trade-offs including population susceptibility to parasites. We have identified 15 wood frog populations that exist along a gradient from close to agriculture and high, constitutive pesticide tolerance to far from agriculture and inducible pesticide tolerance. Using these populations, we investigated the relationship between evolutionary responses to the common insecticide carbaryl and host susceptibility to the trematode Echinoparyphium lineage 3 and ranavirus using laboratory exposure assays. For Echinoparyphium, we discovered that wood frog populations living closer to agriculture with high, constitutive tolerance experienced lower loads than populations living far from agriculture with inducible pesticide tolerance. For ranavirus, we found no relationship between the mechanism of evolved pesticide tolerance and survival, but populations living closer to agriculture with high, constitutive tolerance experienced higher viral loads than populations far from agriculture with inducible tolerance. Land use and mechanisms of evolved pesticide tolerance were associated with susceptibility to parasites, but the direction of the relationship is dependent on the type of parasite, underscoring the complexity between land use and disease outcomes. Collectively, our results demonstrate that evolved pesticide tolerance can indirectly influence host-parasite interactions and underscores the importance of including evolutionary processes in ecotoxicological studies.

Dataset Information

Terrestrial pesticide exposure of amphibians: an underestimated cause of global decline?

Publications

Terrestrial pesticide exposure of amphibians: an underestimated cause of global decline?

Similar Datasets

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