The effects of pesticides (2,4-D and Diuron), single and in mixture, on Daphnia magna and Danio rerio: a multiple endpoint approach at the local and landscape scales

• Grant number: 20/16131-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 15, 2021
• End date: February 14, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Evaldo Luiz Gaeta Espindola
• Grantee: Raquel Aparecida Moreira
• Supervisor: Julian Blasco Moreno
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/24126-4 - EFFECTS OF THE PESTICIDES FIPRONIL AND 2,4-D, ISOLATELY AND IN MIXTURE, ON NATIVE SPECIES OF THE NEOTROPICAL AQUATIC BIOTA, BP.PD

Abstract

Despite advances in the field of Ecotoxicology, there is still a significant gap of information about the toxicity of many chemicals in the environment. Technological and conceptual advances, however, have enabled the use of new methods and techniques, allowing more detailed analyses on the subject, such as integrative approaches, which investigate the mechanisms of toxicity of pollutants in different organisms through non-forced and forced exposures. This progress has been important in the study of pesticides toxicity on non-target species since knowledge on their harmful effects is necessary for the preservation of the environment. In this context, the approach of susceptibility to stress from a landscape perspective, considering the chemical heterogeneity of the exposure scenario, allows to know how stressed might be the population when the landscape presents few escape areas that minimize the continuous exposure to contaminants. Thus, the present research aims to assess how the stress (measured as cortisol levels) and the escape capacity in Danio rerio varies, depending on the chemical heterogeneity due to the presence of the pesticides and the presence of clean/non-preventable areas. Furthermore, considering that not all organisms escape, we could use the forced scenario to see the toxicity of pesticides. Thus, the current research also aims to analyze the effects of 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and diuron (3-(3,4-diclorofenil)-1,1-dimetilureia), single and in mixtures, using different functional/physiological endpoints (oxygen consumption, feeding rate, reproduction and swimming) in Daphnia magna, besides avoidance behavior. This study will contribute to understand the toxic effect of both pesticides and its mixture on the ecosystems and the processes involved in the exposure of organisms of different trophic levels, to such contaminants at realistic concentrations occurring around the world. It is also expected that this approach could become a useful, ecologically relevant and innovative tool for ecological risk assessment. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MOREIRA, RAQUEL A.; POLO-CASTELLANO, CURRO; CORDERO-DE-CASTRO, ANDREA; DIAS, MARIANA A.; PINTO, THANDY J. S.; MONTAGNER, CASSIANA C.; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO L. G.; BLASCO, JULIAN; ARAUJO, CRISTIANO V. M.. Short and long-term exposure to the pesticides fipronil and 2,4-D: Effects on behavior and life history of Daphnia magna. Chemosphere, v. 310, p. 9-pg., 2023-01-01. (20/16131-0, 17/24126-4)

MOREIRA, RAQUEL A.; CORDERO-DE-CASTRO, ANDREA; POLO-CASTELLANO, CURRO; PINTO, THANDY J. S.; DIAS, MARIANA A.; MONTAGNER, CASSIANA C.; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO L. G.; ARAUJO, CRISTIANO V. M.; BLASCO, JULIAN. Avoidance responses by Danio rerio reveal interactive effects of warming, pesticides and their mixtures. Science of The Total Environment, v. 847, p. 9-pg., 2022-07-28. (20/16131-0, 17/24126-4, 15/18790-3)