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Assessment of the Effects of the Pesticide Imidacloprid on the Behaviour of the Aquatic Oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus

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Abstract

Contaminants, such as pesticides, can cause direct toxic effects when released into aquatic environments. Suitably sensitive species can help us understand and predict the impacts of such pollutants. Automated sediment toxicity testing and biomonitoring has grown rapidly, and biomonitoring instruments have proven appropriate for studying the effects of pollutants. A new approach in online biomonitoring, using the multispecies freshwater biomonitor was developed in the present study, using whole-sediment toxicity tests and behavioural responses of the freshwater oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus. Endpoints, such as mortality and growth, were used to study the effects of the pesticide imidacloprid and to achieve a gradient of responses; exposures to contaminated sediments were performed over 10 days’ duration (short-term tests). High mortality was observed in the three highest concentrations of imidacloprid, and inhibition of behaviour was monitored along a gradient of pesticide concentration. Exposure to imidacloprid-contaminated sediments affected growth, behaviour, and avoidance in L. variegatus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express gratitude to Matti Leppänen and Jussi Kukkonen for providing worms to start our culture. Earlier drafts of the manuscript benefited from critical review by Ramiro Pastorinho, whom we thank. The authors also acknowledge Ann Grand for the English revision. The work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia contract reference POCTI/BSE/48131/2002 and by a FCT doctoral grant attributed to A. M. Sardo (reference SFRH/BD/16313/2004).

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Sardo, A.M., Soares, A.M.V.M. Assessment of the Effects of the Pesticide Imidacloprid on the Behaviour of the Aquatic Oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus . Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 58, 648–656 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9470-0

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