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Single Versus Combined Lethal Effects of Three Agricultural Insecticides on Larvae of the Freshwater Insect Chironomus dilutus

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Abstract

Pesticides are currently regulated individually but are present in aquatic systems as mixtures of toxicants. In this study, the lethal effects of three agricultural insecticides—chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid and dimethoate—on Chironomus dilutus larvae were examined. Ninety-six–hour static bioassays were performed using single, binary, and ternary toxicant mixtures. The effects of the binary mixtures were investigated using the MIXTOX model to determine if the mixtures behaved additively, synergistically, or antagonistically. Dimethoate was much less toxic than chlorpyrifos or imidacloprid. Chlorpyrifos and dimethoate were not additive in mixture despite their common mode of action (MOA) and resulted in opposing effects (synergism and antagonism, respectively) when combined with imidacloprid. Synergism was observed in the ternary mixture. These results suggest that current mixture models based on MOA alone may not always be adequate in describing mixture effects, as in the current situation of mixtures with relatively few components. Other factors, such as water solubility, secondary MOA, and mechanisms of toxicity, should also be considered in future investigations of multichemical-mixture effects.

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Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without the technical assistance of both Jon Bailey at Environment Canada (Saskatoon), who ran the chemical analyses, as well as Dave Hryn at Environment Canada (Fredericton), who provided support in conducting the experiments. Lindsay Oliver from the Toxicology Centre at the University of Saskatchewan provided invaluable help in culturing C. dilutus. This work was supported financially by the Environment Canada and Health Canada Pesticide Science Fund to J. M. Culp and A. J. Cessna; a National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant to J. M. Culp; and an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship to H. M. K. LeBlanc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, 10 Bailey Drive, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Heidi M. K. LeBlanc, Joseph M. Culp, Donald J. Baird & Alexa C. Alexander

  2. Environment Canada, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Joseph M. Culp & Donald J. Baird

  3. Environment Canada, National Hydrology Research Centre, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada

    Allan J. Cessna

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  1. Heidi M. K. LeBlanc
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  5. Allan J. Cessna
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Correspondence to Joseph M. Culp.

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LeBlanc, H.M.K., Culp, J.M., Baird, D.J. et al. Single Versus Combined Lethal Effects of Three Agricultural Insecticides on Larvae of the Freshwater Insect Chironomus dilutus . Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 63, 378–390 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9777-0

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