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In situ toxicity and ecological risk assessment of agro-pesticide runoff in the Madre de Dios River in Costa Rica

  • Ecotoxicology in Tropical Regions
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Abstract

The River Madre de Dios (RMD) and its lagoon is a biodiversity rich watershed formed by a system of streams, rivers, channels, and a coastal lagoon communicating with the Caribbean Sea. This basin sustains a large area of agricultural activity (mostly banana, rice, and pineapple) with intensive use of pesticides, continually detected in water samples. We investigated in situ the toxicological effects caused by pesticide runoff from agriculture and the relation of pesticide concentrations with different biological organization levels: early responses in fish biomarkers (sub-organismal), acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (organismal), and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure. The evaluation was carried out between October 2011 and November 2012 at five sites along the RMD influenced by agricultural discharges and a reference site in a stream outside the RMD that receives less pesticides. Acute toxicity to D. magna was observed only once in a sample from the RMD (Caño Azul); the index of biomarker responses in fish exposed in situ was higher than controls at the same site and at the RMD-Freeman. However, only macroinvertebrates were statistically related to the presence of pesticides, combined with both physical-chemical parameters and habitat degradation. All three groups of variables determined the distribution of macroinvertebrate taxa through the study sites.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Julio Knight and his family for their valuable help during the sampling campaigns. We are grateful to the EARTH University for allowing us to take the water and biota samples inside of their campus. Also, we thank Geannina Moraga for the elaboration of Fig. 1. Jennifer Crowe and David Lean kindly revised the correct use of language. This study was funded by the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica and the Swedish Research Council Formas, grant 205-473-3035-21.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central American Institute for Studies in Toxic Substances (IRET), Universidad Nacional, P.O. Box 86-3000, Heredia, Costa Rica

    Silvia Echeverría-Sáenz, Freylan Mena, María Arias-Andrés, Seiling Vargas, Clemens Ruepert & Luisa E. Castillo

  2. Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Paul J. Van den Brink

  3. Alterra, Wageningen University and Research centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Paul J. Van den Brink

  4. Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences (DEEP), Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Jonas S. Gunnarsson

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  1. Silvia Echeverría-Sáenz
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  2. Freylan Mena
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  3. María Arias-Andrés
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Correspondence to Silvia Echeverría-Sáenz.

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Echeverría-Sáenz, S., Mena, F., Arias-Andrés, M. et al. In situ toxicity and ecological risk assessment of agro-pesticide runoff in the Madre de Dios River in Costa Rica. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 13270–13282 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7817-4

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