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Fate of thiamethoxam from treated seeds in mesocosms and response of aquatic invertebrate communities

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Abstract

Thiamethoxam is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely applied in the Canadian Prairies. It has been detected in surface waters of agro-ecosystems, including wetlands, but the potential effects on non-target invertebrate communities in these wetlands have not been well characterized. In an effort to understand better the fate of thiamethoxam in wetlands and the response of invertebrates (zooplankton and emergent insects), model systems were used to mimic wetland flooding into planted fields. Outdoor mesocosms were treated with a single application of thiamethoxam-treated canola seeds at three treatment levels based on a recommended seeding rate (i.e., 6 kg/ha; 1×, 10×, and 100× seeding rate) and monitored over ten weeks. The mean half-life of thiamethoxam in the water column was 6.2 d. There was no ecologically meaningful impact on zooplankton abundances or community structure among treatments. Statistically significant differences were observed in aquatic insect abundance between control mesocosms and the two greatest thiamethoxam treatments (10× and 100× seeding rate). The observed results indicate exposure to thiamethoxam at environmentally relevant concentrations likely does not represent a significant ecological risk to abundance and community structure of wetland zooplankton and emergent insects.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Syngenta for supplying the treated seeds. Thanks to Leah Cuscito and Shira Joudan for their assistance with biota and sample collection, Melanie Fetterly for her assistance with the zooplankton enumeration process, and Julie Anderson for reviewing early drafts of this paper. Finally, thank you to the two anonymous reviewers for taking their time to review our manuscript and provide helpful comments that contributed to the improvement of this manuscript.

Funding

Funding was provided through the NSERC DG program to MLH and CW and the NSERC CRC program to CW.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    A. K. Vanderpont, C. Lobson, D. Moore & M. L. Hanson

  2. Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Z. Lu

  3. Richardson College for the Environment, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    K. Luong, M. Arentsen, T. Vera & C. S. Wong

  4. EcoMetrix Inc, Mississauga, ON, L5N 2L8, Canada

    M. S. White

  5. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    R. S. Prosser

  6. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626, USA

    C. S. Wong

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  1. A. K. Vanderpont
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All authors contributed significantly to the paper such that authorship is warranted.

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Correspondence to M. L. Hanson.

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MLH has published previously with the registrant of thiamethoxam (Syngenta Crop Protection LLC) on this compound.

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Vanderpont, A.K., Lobson, C., Lu, Z. et al. Fate of thiamethoxam from treated seeds in mesocosms and response of aquatic invertebrate communities. Ecotoxicology 31, 341–356 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-021-02500-8

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