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Combined effects of malathion and nitrate on early growth, abnormalities, and mortality of wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles

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Abstract

Use of pesticides and other agro-chemicals adversely influence amphibians either directly by killing them or by inducing sublethal, chronic effects. Many studies have investigated the effect of mixtures of pesticides or fertilizers. We studied the combined effects of nitrate and malathion ([(dimethoxy phosphino thioyl] butanediotae) on the early growth, expression of abnormalities, and mortality of Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles in a laboratory experiment. Tadpoles were treated with factorial combinations of 0, 8, and 16 mg NO3–N l−1 and 0, 250, 500, and 1,000 μg malathion l−1 for a period of 14 days. Feeding behaviour, total length, mean tadpole mass, frequencies of abnormalities, and survivorship in each treatment were recorded. Malathion showed a significant negative influence on all parameters and strongly influenced the frequencies of morphological anomalies. In contrast, nitrate alone did not produce any significant effects on behavior, total length, tadpole mass, or the frequency of abnormalities during the experiment. Malathion and nitrate had an interactive effect on tadpole length and mass, but did not affect any other parameters. Our results suggest that exposure to malathion, even at relatively low concentrations can have serious negative consequences for Wood Frog tadpoles. In addition, our results also indicate that there was little synergistic interaction between malathion and nitrate exposure under laboratory conditions.

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Acknowledgments

SVK is thankful to United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF, New Delhi, India) for the Fulbright Indo-American Environmental Leadership Program Fellowship. Authors are thankful to Dr. Jessica E. Rettig for the help and support during the experiment. The facilities rendered by the Department of Biology, Denison University are acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Denison University, Granville, OH, 43023, USA

    S. V. Krishnamurthy & G. R. Smith

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Kuvempu University, Jnana Sahyadri, Shimoga Dist., Shankaraghatta, 577 451, Karnataka, India

    S. V. Krishnamurthy

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  1. S. V. Krishnamurthy
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  2. G. R. Smith
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Correspondence to S. V. Krishnamurthy.

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Krishnamurthy, S.V., Smith, G.R. Combined effects of malathion and nitrate on early growth, abnormalities, and mortality of wood frog (Rana sylvatica) tadpoles. Ecotoxicology 20, 1361–1367 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0692-3

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