Fate, interaction, and ecological effects of microplastics and pesticides in tropical freshwater environments

• Grant number: 22/14293-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Cassiana Carolina Montagner
• Grantee: Thandy Júnio da Silva Pinto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/50951-4 - INCT 2014: Advanced Analytical Technologies, AP.TEM

Abstract

In conventional farming, particles of microplastics (MPs) will eventually interact with the pesticides applied to the crops. Interactions among MPs and pesticides likely impact the environmental fate of these materials and the impacts that they have on organisms in aquatic ecosystems. The overall project aims are to assess the interactions between MPs and pesticides and how this interaction interferes with the life cycles of aquatic invertebrates from different feeding habits in laboratory and semi-field assays. For these experiments the insecticide imidacloprid and the fungicide carbendazim and MP polymers of polyethylene and polypropylene have been selected because they are among the most frequently encountered in the freshwater environments in Brazil. The adsorption/desorption dynamics of both pesticides with MPs (that have been aged) will be assessed in laboratory and semi-field experiments (aquatic mesocosms). The effects of the pesticides and MPs, alone and in mixture, will be assessed by several assays (short and long-term) with benthic invertebrate species. The endpoints of these bioassays include survival, growth, reproduction, energy reserves, and ingestion/gut transit of MPs. In addition, effects of exposure on behavioral responses including identification and avoidance will be assessed. Aquatic mesocosms (1500 L) will be used for investigation of fate and interactions of MPs and pesticides and the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on these processes. Effects of MP-pesticide contamination in the structure and functional diversity of the benthic macroinvertebrate community will be also assessed, along with mapping the occurrence of MPs in the trophic chain. Through laboratory and semi-field experiments, we will expand the discussion about the MPs pollution in agricultural fields whose effects are still poorly understood by the scientific community. (AU)

Scientific publications

(9)

(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)

DA COSTA, VANESSA BORGES; OGURA, ALLAN PRETTI; ALEXANDRE, DAVID SILVA; SOARES, MATHEUS BORTOLANZA; ALLEONI, LUIS REYNALDO FERRACCIU; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO LUIZ GAETA; DA SILVA PINTO, THANDY JUNIO. How much biochar is safe? Exploring potential ecotoxicological consequences for soil invertebrates and plants. APPLIED SOIL ECOLOGY, v. 202, p. 9-pg., 2024-07-30. (22/08032-8, 22/14293-9, 24/00791-2, 21/14789-1)

PINTO, THANDY JUNIO DA SILVA; MARTINEZ-GUITARTE, JOSE-LUIS; DIAS, MARIANA AMARAL; MONTAGNER, CASSIANA CAROLINA; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO LUIZ GAETA; MUNIZ-GONZALEZ, ANA-BELEN. Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of the Insecticide Fipronil Modulated Molecular Response in Chironomus riparius. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, v. 43, n. 2, p. 13-pg., 2024-02-01. (22/14293-9)

CALDAS, LUCAS LOPES; ALEXANDRE, DAVID SILVA; OGURA, ALLAN PRETTI; DA SILVA, LAIS CONCEICAO MENEZES; PINTO, THANDY JUNIO DA SILVA; MOREIRA, RAQUEL APARECIDA; ZACHARIAS, TELMA DE OLIVEIRA; MONTAGNER, CASSIANA CAROLINA; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO LUIZ GAETA. Elutriates and Leachates of Soil Microcosms Contaminated With 2,4-D, Fipronil, and Their Mixtures Affect the Life-history Traits of Ceriodaphnia Silvestrii (Crustacea: Cladocera). WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION, v. 236, n. 6, p. 13-pg., 2025-06-01. (22/14293-9, 24/00791-2, 21/14789-1)

DA SILVA PINTO, THANDY JUNIO; MARTINEZ-GUITARTE, JOSE-LUIS; DIAS, MARIANA AMARAL; MONTAGNER, CASSIANA CAROLINA; GAETA ESPINDOLA, EVALDO LUIZ; MUNIZ-GONZALEZ, ANA-BELEN. New insights about the toxicity of 2,4-D: Gene expression analysis reveals modulation on several subcellular responses in Chironomus riparius. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY, v. 204, p. 11-pg., 2024-08-21. (22/14293-9)

ALEXANDRE, DAVID SILVA; OGURA, ALLAN PRETTI; PINTO, THANDY JUNIO DA SILVA; SOARES, MATHEUS BORTOLANZA; ALLEONI, LUIS REYNALDO FERRACCIU; MONTAGNER, CASSIANA CAROLINA; ZACHARIAS, TELMA DE OLIVEIRA; DIAS, MARIANA AMARAL; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO LUIZ GAETA. Biochar from Sugarcane Straw Reduces the Toxicity of Soils Contaminated with 2,4-D and Fipronil, Isolated and in a Mixture, on Multispecies Microcosms. WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION, v. 234, n. 10, p. 16-pg., 2023-10-01. (22/14293-9, 15/18790-3, 21/14789-1, 22/08032-8)

NETO, ANTONIO JOSE GAZONATO; MOREIRA, RAQUEL APARECIDA; ANDRADE, DOUGLAS DE PADUA; LIMA, JULIO CESAR DOS SANTOS; PINTO, THANDY JUNIO DA SILVA; DAAM, MICHIEL ADRIAAN; ROCHA, ODETE. Two tropical oligochaetes as potential standard test species: a case study evaluating single and combined copper and manganese toxicity. CHEMISTRY AND ECOLOGY, v. 40, n. 8, p. 13-pg., 2024-06-21. (22/14293-9, 17/24126-4)

GOMES, DIEGO FERREIRA; BRITO, HEVELYN PLACIDO; DO VALE, JULIA GOMES; PINTO, THANDY JUNIOR DA SILVA; MOREIRA, RAQUEL APARECIDA; ROCHA, ODETE. Toxicity of isolated and mixed metals to a native Amazonian ostracod and ecological risk assessment. ECOTOXICOLOGY, v. 33, n. 9, p. 12-pg., 2024-08-31. (22/14293-9)

SANCHES, ANA LETICIA MADEIRA; PINTO, THANDY JUNIO DA SILVA; DAAM, MICHIEL ADRIAAN; TERESA, FABRICIO BARRETO; VIEIRA, BRUNA HORVATH; REGHINI, MARINA VANDERLEI; DE ALMEIDA, EDUARDO ALVES; ESPINDOLA, EVALDO LUIZ GAETA. Isolated and mixed effects of pure and formulated abamectin and difenoconazole on biochemical biomarkers of the gills of Danio rerio. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY, v. 273, p. 8-pg., 2024-06-12. (22/12104-4, 14/14621-0, 17/05543-3, 23/02121-1, 23/02708-2, 22/14293-9)

CASTRO, GLEYSON B.; CORBI, JULIANO J.; COTTORELLO-FONSECA, MATEUS; CORREIA, DANIELA; RALDUA, DEMETRIO; ALEXANDRE, DAVID S.; PINTO, THANDY JUNIO DA SILVA; PRATS, EVA; FARIA, MELISSA. Fluoroquinolone and sulfonamide antibiotics (single and mixtures) impair the motor function of zebrafish larvae at environmentally relevant concentrations. COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY C-TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY, v. 290, p. 12-pg., 2025-02-15. (20/15087-8, 20/11042-0, 22/14293-9, 24/00791-2, 22/12048-7)