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Sensitivity of Eisenia andrei (Annelida, Oligochaeta) to a commercial formulation of abamectin in avoidance tests with artificial substrate and natural soil under tropical conditions

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Abstract

Obtaining ecotoxicological data on pesticides in tropical regions is imperative for performing more realistic risk analysis, and avoidance tests have been proposed as a useful, fast and cost-effective tool. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the avoidance behavior of Eisenia andrei to a formulated product, Vertimec® 18 EC (a.i abamectin), in tests performed on a reference tropical artificial soil (TAS), to derive ecotoxicological data on tropical conditions, and a natural soil (NS), simulating crop field conditions. In TAS tests an adaptation of the substrate recommended by OECD and ISO protocols was used, with residues of coconut fiber as a source of organic matter. Concentrations of the pesticide on TAS test ranged from 0 to 7 mg abamectin/kg (dry weight—d.w.). In NS tests, earthworms were exposed to samples of soils sprayed in situ with: 0.9 L of Vertimec® 18 EC/ha (RD); twice as much this dosage (2RD); and distilled water (Control), respectively, and to 2RD: control dilutions (12.5, 25, 50, 75%). All tests were performed under 25 ± 2°C, to simulate tropical conditions, and a 12hL:12hD photoperiod. The organisms avoided contaminated TAS for an EC50,48h = 3.918 mg/kg soil d.w., LOEC = 1.75 mg/kg soil d.w. and NOEC = 0.85 mg/kg soil d.w. No significant avoidance response occurred for any NS test. Abamectin concentrations in NS were rather lower than EC50, 48h and LOEC determined in TAS tests. The results obtained contribute to overcome a lack of ecotoxicological data on pesticides under tropical conditions, but more tests with different soil invertebrates are needed to improve pesticides risk analysis.

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Acknowledgements

This study was sponsored by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil, trough a PhD grant to Maria Edna Tenório Nunes—Process 142656/2006-2. The authors also thank Petrobras, through Programa Petrobras Ambiental, for the financial support to the Projeto Mogi-Guaçu, through which this research began.

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  1. Núcleo de Estudos em Ecossistemas Aquáticos, Centro de Recursos Hídricos e Ecologia Aplicada, Departamento de Hidráulica e Saneamento, Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 359, São Carlos, SP, 13566-590, Brazil

    Maria Edna Tenório Nunes & Evaldo Luiz Gaeta Espíndola

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  1. Maria Edna Tenório Nunes
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  2. Evaldo Luiz Gaeta Espíndola
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Correspondence to Maria Edna Tenório Nunes.

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Nunes, M.E.T., Espíndola, E.L.G. Sensitivity of Eisenia andrei (Annelida, Oligochaeta) to a commercial formulation of abamectin in avoidance tests with artificial substrate and natural soil under tropical conditions. Ecotoxicology 21, 1063–1071 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-012-0859-6

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