Acute and chronic toxicity of pesticides on tadpoles of Physalaemus cuvieri (Anura, Leptodactylidae)

• Published in: Ecotoxicology (London) Vol. 27; no. 3; pp. 360 - 368
• Main Authors: Wrubleswski, Juliana, Reichert, Francisco Wilson, Galon, Leandro, Hartmann, Paulo Afonso, Hartmann, Marilia Teresinha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-04-2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amphibians; Amphibiotic species; Aquatic reptiles; Atrazine; Chronic toxicity; Controlled conditions; Cypermethrin; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Eggs; Environment; Environmental Management; Evaluation; Exposure; Formulations; Fungicides; Herbicides; Insecticides; Lethal limits; Mortality causes; Pesticide toxicity; Pesticides; Physalaemus cuvieri; Risk analysis; Risk assessment; Swimming; Tebuconazole; Toxicity; Toxicity testing; Toxicity tests; Vertebrates; Wildlife; Ecological risk evaluation; Tebuconazole; Ecotoxicity; Cypermethrin; Atrazine
• ISSN: 0963-9292; 1573-3017
• DOI: 10.1007/s10646-018-1900-1

Brazil is the largest consumer of pesticides in the world. However, knowledge on how these pesticides affect wildlife is scarce. Among the vertebrates, amphibians are particularly important in research to assess the impact of pesticides because of the correlation between pesticide and the decline of these species. This study aimed to evaluate the acute and chronic toxicity of commercial formulations of pesticides, i.e., atrazine (herbicide), cypermethrin (insecticide), and tebuconazole (fungicide) in
Physalaemus cuvieri
tadpoles. Eggs were collected in nature and cultivated under controlled conditions in the laboratory. Toxicity tests were carried out under standard conditions to determine the lethal concentration (LC
50
) after 96 h of exposure and to determine the effect of sublethal concentrations after 7 days. In addition, we performed swimming activity tests on tadpoles exposed to sublethal concentrations. The lethal concentration (LC
50
) was 19.69 mg/L for atrazine, 0.24 mg/L for cypermethrin and 0.98 mg/L for tebuconazole. In the acute test, atrazine showed lower toxicity than cypermethrin and tebuconazole for
P. cuvieri
. Swimming activity was affected at sublethal doses of atrazine and cypermethrin, but was not after exposure to tebuconazole. Cypermethrin was the insecticide that most altered the swimming activity of the individuals tested. The risk evaluation analysis indicated risks for tadpoles exposed to three tested pesticides, specially cypermethrin.