Chronic exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide makes toad larvae more toxic.

ABSTRACT: Chemical pollutants can exert various sublethal effects on wildlife, leading to complex fitness consequences. Many animals use defensive chemicals as protection from predators and diseases, yet the effects of chemical contaminants on this important fitness component are poorly known. Understanding such effects is especially relevant for amphibians, the globally most threatened group of vertebrates, because they are particularly vulnerable to chemical pollution. We conducted two experiments to investigate how exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides, the most widespread agrochemicals worldwide, affects the production of bufadienolides, the main compounds of chemical defence in common toads (Bufo bufo). In both experiments, herbicide exposure increased the amount of bufadienolides in toad tad

SUBMITTER: Bokony V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5524492 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature