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Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis on nonstandard microcrustacean species isolated from field zooplankton communities

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Abstract

The toxicity of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis on zooplanktonic microcrustaceans was evaluated using individuals collected in coastal wetlands where this larvicide has been used for mosquito control over the last decades. We tested five zooplankton species that coexist with mosquito larvae: two copepods (both nauplii and adults of Tropocyclops prasinus and Acantocyclops americanus), and three cladocerans (Ceriodaphnia reticulata, Chydorus sphaericus, and Daphnia cf. pulex). Our experiments included seven replicates of six concentrations (Bti Vectobac12AS 1200 Bti ITU/mg): 0, 5, 25, 50, 250, and 500 mg L−1. We analyzed acute and sub-chronic effects after a single inoculation. Despite the high variability of responses among our tested organisms, we found a general pattern of increasing mortality with concentration and time. We conclude that negative effects at the community level are not unlikely as some species were affected at doses close to those used in field applications.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Albufera Natural Park and Valencia City Hall technical office for their permission to sample. J. Rueda-Sevilla advised us on Bti application. We also acknowledge Arietellus for English improvement and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project CGL2008-03760). C. Olmo has an FPI grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant: BES-2009-018518).

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  1. Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Burjassot, Valencia, E-46980, Spain

    Carla Olmo, Amparo Marco, Xavier Armengol & Raquel Ortells

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  1. Carla Olmo
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  2. Amparo Marco
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  3. Xavier Armengol
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Correspondence to Carla Olmo.

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Olmo, C., Marco, A., Armengol, X. et al. Effects of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis on nonstandard microcrustacean species isolated from field zooplankton communities. Ecotoxicology 25, 1730–1738 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-016-1708-9

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