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Effects of the pyrethroid insecticide gamma-cyhalothrin on aquatic invertebrates in laboratory and outdoor microcosm tests

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Abstract

The sensitivity of a range of freshwater lentic invertebrates to gamma-cyhalothrin (GCH), a single enantiomer of the synthetic pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin, was assessed in single species laboratory tests and an outdoor multi-species ecosystem test. The most sensitive species in the laboratory single species tests with GCH was Chaoborus obscuripes (96 h EC50: 3.8 ng/l). The species sensitivity distribution curve, based on the laboratory 96 h EC50 acute toxicity data for eight species, gave a median HC5 value for GCH of 2.12 ng/l. The NOECcommunity derived from the multi-species ecosystem test was 5 ng/l, and the insects Chaoborus sp. and Caenis sp. were identified as the most sensitive species. The results indicate that the median HC5, based on eight species selected to include those known to be sensitive to pyrethroids, provided a good estimation of the NOECcommunity for GCH. Furthermore, the results for GCH indicated that the endpoints typically used in higher-tier risk assessments for pesticides in Europe (HC5 and NOECcommunity) were consistent with expectations when compared to the equivalent endpoints for the racemate LCH.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Steven Crum, John Deneer, Ariënne Matser, René Aalderink, Harry Boonstra, Marie-Claire Boerwinkel, Dick Belgers, Jan Bovenschen in conducting the microcosm study, and Paul van den Brink for the statistical analysis. The authors thank three anonymous reviewers for their critical comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This work was funded by Dow AgroSciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Water and Climate, Alterra, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    René P. A. van Wijngaarden & Theo C. M. Brock

  2. Dow AgroSciences, 3 Milton Park, Abingdon, OX4 4RN, UK

    Ian Barber

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  1. René P. A. van Wijngaarden
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  2. Ian Barber
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  3. Theo C. M. Brock
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Correspondence to René P. A. van Wijngaarden.

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van Wijngaarden, R.P.A., Barber, I. & Brock, T.C.M. Effects of the pyrethroid insecticide gamma-cyhalothrin on aquatic invertebrates in laboratory and outdoor microcosm tests. Ecotoxicology 18, 211–224 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-008-0274-1

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