Prolonged effects of the insecticide dimethoate on locomotor behaviour in the woodlouse, Porcellio scaber Latr. (isopoda)

Beneficial invertebrates living in hedgerows and woodland adjacent to arable land, are almost inevitably exposed to small doses of pesticides. This can present a threat to these invertebrates even at sublethal levels. Locomotor behaviour is intrinsic to many more complex behavioural responses such as predator avoidance, migration, mate seeking, etc., but is also closely related to the physiological status of the animal. Further, locomotor activity is quantifiable with the aid of modern video and computer technology. In the present study, the effect of a 48 h exposure of the woodlouse Porcellio scaber to soil contaminated with one-tenth of the LD₂₀ (96 h) dimethoate dose was quantified using computer-automated video tracking. Dimethoate-exposed woodlice were recorded for one night prior to dimethoate exposure and for two nights on contaminated soil. After a recovery period of 21 days, the woodlice were recorded for a further night. Control animals were recorded in parallel on soil treated with water. Over the 48 h of exposure, dimethoate induced a gradually increasing hyperactivity in terms of time spent in activity, mean velocity and path length and a suppression of turning rate when compared with controls. No recovery was seen after the 21 days on uncontaminated soil. These effects were statistically significant only in male woodlice.