Toxicity of the fungicide trifloxystrobin on tadpoles and its effect on fish-tadpole interaction

Contamination of aquatic systems is a major environmental stress that can interfere with predator-prey interactions, altering prey or predator behavior differentially. We determined toxicity parameters of the fungicide trifloxystrobin (TFS) and examined its effects on predation rate, using a fish predator (Synbranchus marmoratus) and four anuran tadpole species as prey (Rhinella arenarum, Physalaemus santafecinus, Leptodactylus latrans, and Elachistocleis bicolor). TFS was not equally toxic to the four tadpole species, E. bicolor being the most sensitive species, followed by P. santafecinus, R. arenarum, and L. latrans. Predation rates were evaluated using different treatments that combined predator and prey exposed or not to this fungicide. TFS would alter the outcome of eel-tadpole interaction by reducing prey movements; thus, prey detection would decrease and therefore tadpole survival would increase. In addition, eels preyed selectively upon non-exposed tadpoles avoiding the exposed ones almost all throughout the period evaluated. Predation rate differed among prey species; such differences were not due to TFS exposure, but to interspecific differences in behavior. The mechanism that would explain TFS-induced reduction in predation rates remains unclear; however, what is clear is that sublethal TFS concentrations have the potential to alter prey behavior, thereby indirectly altering predator-prey interactions. In addition, we consider that predator-prey relationships are measurable responses of toxicant exposure and provide ecological insight into how contaminants modify predator-prey interactions.     

Plasma esterases in the tegu lizard Tupinambis merianae (Reptilia, Teiidae): impact of developmental stage, sex, and organophosphorus in vitro exposure

Purpose  

In this study, we determined normal serum butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and carboxylesterase (CbE) activities in Tupinambis merianae in order to obtain reference values for organophosphorus pesticide monitoring.     

Levels of plasma B-esterases and glutathione-S-transferase activities in three South American toad species

We determined the normal levels of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), carboxylesterase (CbE), and glutathione S-transferases (GST) activities in three South American toad species in order to establish reference values for field pesticide monitoring purposes. Interspecies variations in B-esterase and GST activities were examined according to body mass. In addition, comparative inhibition of BChE and CbE activities using malaoxon, and chemical reactivation of malaoxon-inhibited BChE activity using pyridine-2-aldoxime methochloride (2-PAM) were investigated. Bufo fernandezae had average activity values for BChE: 17.31 mmol min^?1 ml^?1; CbE: 621.49 nmol min^?1 ml^?1 and GST: 1.94 mmol min^?1 ml^?1 while B. arenarum enzymatic average activities were BChE: 9.51 mmol min^?1 ml^?1; CbE: 270.07 nmol min^?1 ml^?1, and GST: 1.59 mmol min^?1 ml^?1; finally Bufo schneideri had enzymatic mean values of BChE: 2.08 mmol min^?1 ml^?1; CbE: 301.95 nmol min^?1 ml^?1, and GST: 1.60 mmol min^?1 ml^?1. Moreover, we found an allometric relationship between plasma BChE and CbE activities and body size for the three toad species. We suggest that B. fernandezae would be the species with a higher tolerance capacity to organophosphorous insecticides compared to the other toad species, while B. schneideri may be the most vulnerable toad species to field pesticide exposure, although some other factors (e.g., brain AChE sensitivity or pesticide metabolism by phosphotriesterases) should be also taken into account. The malaoxon-inhibited BChE activity of the three toad species was reactivated in the presence of 2-PAM, and it is recommended as a specific and sensitive methodology in the assessment of field exposure to OP insecticides together to compare BChE activity levels between OP-exposed and nonexposed individuals.     

Induction of micronuclei in tadpoles of Odontophrynus americanus (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae) by the pyrethroid insecticide cypermethrin

Cypermethrin (CY) is an active cyano pyrethroid effective against a wide range of pests encountered in agriculture and forestry. Although CY is not mutagenic in in vitro assays for gene mutation, in vivo assays showed conflicting results. In vivo genotoxicity of the synthetic pyrethroid CY in erythrocytes of Odontophrynus americanus tadpoles was examined. The frequency of micronuclei (MN) was recorded in blood smears obtained from tadpoles exposed in vivo to four different nominal concentrations 5, 10, 20 or 40?µg?L^?1 of the compound and fixed at two sampling times 48 and 96?h. As a positive control larvae were exposed to 40?mg?L^?1 of cyclophosphamide (CP). Tadpoles exposed to all CY treatments showed a significant increase in single small MN compared to the negative control group after 48?h and at 5 and 10?µg?L^?1 of CY at 96?h. Results obtained here demonstrated the genotoxic effects of the commercial formulation CY in the anuran larvae analyzed. Thus, data suggest that measurements of MN and other erythrocytes morphological aberrations performed in circulating blood samples of O. americanus tadpoles is a method for detecting cytogenetic damage in other native species.