Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Growth Recovery of Lemna gibba and Lemna minor Following a 7-Day Exposure to the Herbicide Diuron

  • Published:
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In agricultural catchments, aquatic ecosystems can experience a pulse exposure to pesticides. Following such exposure, non-target organisms that are not extirpated may recover. This paper investigates the potential of two duckweed species (Lemna minor and Lemna gibba) to recover from a 7-day exposure to different concentrations (0.4–208 µg L−1) of the herbicide diuron. There was significant inhibition in the growth and biomass after the initial 7-day exposure (e.g. frond number EC50 = 59.2 and 52.2 µg L−1 for L. minor and L. gibba, respectively). Following transfer to clean media, recovery (the highest concentration yielding no significant difference in the effect endpoint from the control) was observed for all effects endpoints at concentrations ranging 60–111 µg L−1 for L. minor and 60–208 µg L−1 for L. gibba. These results suggest that recovery is possible for primary producers at environmentally relevant concentrations considered significant in ecological risk assessment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andrus M, Winter D, Scanlan M, Sullivan S, Bollman W, Waggoner J, Hosmer A, Brain R (2013) Seasonal synchronicity of algal assemblages in three Midwestern streams receiving varying concentrations of atrazine. Sci Total Environ 458–460:125–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ANZECC (Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council) (2000) An introduction to the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for fresh and marine water quality. Environment Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • APVMA (Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority) (2011) Diuron: environment assessment. The Australian Government, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) (1991) Standard guide 1415-91E: standard guide for conducting static toxicity tests with Lemna gibba G3. Book of ASTM standards. ASTM, Philadelphia, pp 1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Bainbridge ZT, Brodie JE, Faithful JW, Sydes DA, Lewis SE (2009) Identifying the land-based sources of suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides discharged to the Great Barrier Reef from the Tully–Murray Basin, Queensland, Australia. Mar Freshw Res 60:1081–1090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balakrishnan S, Takeda K, Sakugawa H (2012) Occurrence of diuron and irgarol in seawater, sediments and planktons of Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Geochem J 46:169–177

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter L, Brain RA, Prosser RS, Solomon KR, Hanson ML (2013) Sensitivity of green alga to atrazine is not enhanced by previous acute exposure. Environ Pollut 181:325–328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter L, Brain RA, Rodriguez-Gil JL, Hosmer A, Solomon KR, Hanson ML (2014) Response of the green algae Oophila sp., a salamander endosymbiont, to a PSII-inhibitor under laboratory conditions. Environ Toxicol Chem 33:1858–1864

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brain RA, Hosmer AJ, Desjardins D, Kendall TZ, Krueger HO, Wall SB (2012) Recovery of duckweed from time-varying exposure to atrazine. Environ Toxicol Chem 31:1121–1128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burns M (2011) Catchment-scale ecological risk assessment of pesticides. Dissertation, the University of Sydney, Australia

  • Canada Environment (2006) Biological test method: test for measuring the inhibition of growth using the freshwater macrophyte, Lemna minor, 2nd edn. Environment Canada, Ottawa

    Google Scholar 

  • Cedergreen N, Andersen L, Olesen CF, Spliid HH, Streibig JC (2005) Does the effect of herbicide pulse exposure on aquatic plants depend on K-ow or mode of action? Aquat Toxicol 71:261–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dorigo U, Berard A, Rimet F, Bouchez A, Montuelle B (2010) In situ assessment of periphyton recovery in a river contaminated by pesticides. Aquat Toxicol 98:396–406

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2005) Conclusion regarding the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance Diuron. EFSA scientific report 25, EFSA, Italy

  • Field JA, Reed RL, Sawyer TE, Griffith SM, Wigington PJ (2003) Diuron occurrence and distribution in soil and surface and ground water associated with grass seed production. J Environ Qual 32:171–179

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg BM, Huang X-D, Dixon DG (1992) Applications of the higher aquatic plant Lemna gibba for ecotoxicological risk assessment. J Aquat Ecosyst Health 1:147–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes D, Ralph P, Prange J, Dennison B (2000) The impact of the herbicide diuron on photosynthesis in three species of tropical seagrass. Mar Pollut Bull 41:288–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Izawa S, Good NE (1965) The number of sites sensitive to 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, 3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea and 2-chloro-4-(2-propylamino)-6-ethylamino-s-triazine in isolated chloroplasts. BBA Biophys Photosynth 102:20–38

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krieger-Liszkay A, Rutherford AW (1998) Influence of herbicide binding on the redox potential of the quinone acceptor in photosystem-II. Relevance to photodamage and phytotoxicity. Biochem US 37:17339–17344

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lamoree MH, Swart CP, van der Horst A, van Hattum B (2002) Determination of diuron and the antifouling paint biocide Irgarol 1051 in Dutch marinas and coastal waters. J Chromatogr A 970:183–190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McCahon CP, Pascoe D (1990) Episodic pollution: causes, toxicological effects and ecological significance. Funct Ecol 4:375–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2006a) Lemna sp., growth inhibition test. OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals number 221. OECD Publishing, Paris

  • OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2006b) Current approaches in the statistical analysis of ecotoxicity data: a guidance to application. OECD Environment Health and Safety publications series on testing and assessment number 54. OECD Publishing, Paris

  • Okamura H, Nishida T, Ono Y, Shim WJ (2003) Phytotoxic effects of antifouling compounds on nontarget plant species. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 71:881–886

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Posthuma L, Trass TP, Suter GW II (2002) General introduction to species sensitivity distributions. In: Posthuma L, Suter GW II, Trass TP (eds) Species sensitivity distributions in ecotoxicology, vol 1. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, pp 3–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Prosser RS, Brain RA, Hosmer AJ, Solomon KR, Hanson ML (2013) Assessing the PSII sensitivity and recovery of field-collected periphyton communities under laboratory conditions. Ecotoxicology 22:1367–1383

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2011) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. http://www.R-project.org/

  • Reinert KH, Giddings JA, Judd L (2002) Effects analysis of time-varying or repeated exposures in aquatic ecological risk assessment of agrochemicals. Environ Toxicol Chem 21:1977–1992

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Renger G (1986) Herbicide interaction with photosystem 2: recent developments. Physiol Veg 24:509–521

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ritz C, Streibig JC (2005) Bioassays analysis using R. J Stat Softw 12:1–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Skark C, Zullei-Seibert N, Willme U, Gatzemann U, Schlett C (2004) Contribution of non-agricultural pesticides to pesticide load in surface water. Pest Manag Sci 60:525–530

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon KR, Baker DB, Richards RP, Dixon DR, Klaine SJ, LaPoint TW, Kendall RJ, Weisskopf CP, Giddings JM, Giesy JP, Hall LW, Williams WM (1996) Ecological risk assessment of atrazine in North American surface waters. Environ Toxicol Chem 15:31–74

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teisseire H, Couderchet M, Vernet G (1999) Phytotoxicity of diuron alone and in combination with copper or folpet on duckweed (Lemna minor). Environ Pollut 106:39–45

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vallotton N, Ilda R, Eggen L, Escher BI, Krayenbuhl J, Chevre N (2008) Effect of pulse herbicidal exposure on Scenedesmus vacuolatus: a comparison of two photosystem II inhibitors. Environ Toxicol Chem 27:1399–1407

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Rensen JJS (1982) Molecular mechanisms of herbicide action near photosystem II. Physiol Plant 54:515–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zer H, Ohad I (1995) Photoinactivation of photosystem II induces changes in the photochemical reaction center II abolishing the regulatory role of the Qb site in the D1 protein-degradation. Eur J Biochem 231:448–453

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge contributions from researchers of the laboratories of Dr. Keith Solomon and Dr. Paul Sibley at the University of Guelph, Canada to whom we are very grateful. Research was partially funded by the University of Sydney, Australia, Cotton Catchment Communities CRC, Australia and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Australia in the form of Ph.D. and travel scholarships to M. Burns, and a Canadian NSERC Discovery Grant to M. Hanson.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Mitchell Burns, Angus N. Crossan & Ivan R. Kennedy

  2. Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Mark L. Hanson

  3. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

    Ryan S. Prosser

Authors
  1. Mitchell Burns
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark L. Hanson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ryan S. Prosser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Angus N. Crossan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ivan R. Kennedy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mitchell Burns.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Burns, M., Hanson, M.L., Prosser, R.S. et al. Growth Recovery of Lemna gibba and Lemna minor Following a 7-Day Exposure to the Herbicide Diuron. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 95, 150–156 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1575-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1575-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation