Responses of Chironomus sancticaroli to the simulation of environmental contamination by sugarcane management practices: Water and sediment toxicity

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da Silva Pinto, Thandy Junio ; Moreira, Raquel Aparecida ; Schmidt Freitas, Juliane Silber ; Menezes da Silva, Lais Conceicao ; Cardoso Yoshii, Maria Paula ; de Palma Lopes, Lais Fernanda ; Ogura, Allan Pretti ; de Mello Gabriel, Gabriele Veronica ; Tavares Rosa, Luana Maria ; Schiesari, Luis ; do Carmo, Janaina Braga ; Montagner, Cassiana Carolina ; Daam, Michiel Adriaan ; Gaeta Espindola, Evaldo Luiz

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Science of The Total Environment; v. 857, p. 12-pg., 2023-01-20.

Abstract

Sugarcane management practices include the application of pesticides, including the herbicide 2,4-D and the insecti-cide fipronil. In addition, a by-product from the ethanol industry, called vinasse, is commonly applied to fertilize sug-arcane areas. The potential risks of these practices to the edge-of -field aquatic ecosystems were assessed in the present study. This was done by contaminating mesocosms with (single and mixtures of) both pesticides and vinasse and eval-uating the effects on the midge Chironomus sancticaroli through in-situ and laboratory bioassays. To this end, outdoor mesocosms were treated with fipronil (F), 2,4-D (D), and vinasse (V) alone and with the mixture of fipronil and 2,4-D (M), as well as with both pesticides and vinasse (MV). C. sancticaroli was deployed in mesocosms before contamination in cages, which were taken out 4-and 8-days-post-contamination. Water and sediment samples were also taken for lab-oratory bioassays on the first day of contamination, as well as 7-, 14-, 21-, 30-, 45-, and 75-days post-contamination. The responses assessed in subchronic assays (8-day) were survival, growth, head capsule width, development, and mentum deformities. Low survival occurred in the in-situ experiments of all treatments due to the low oxygen levels. In the laboratory tests, effects on survival occurred for F, V, and M over time after exposure to both water and sediment. All organisms died post-exposure to water samples from the MV treatment, even 75-days-post-contamination. Impair-ments in body length and head capsule width occurred for F, V, and M for water and F, V, M, and MV for sediment samples over time. All treatments increased mentum deformities in exposed larvae for any of the sampling periods. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/18790-3 - Environmental effects of the pasture-sugarcane conversion and pasture intensification
• Grantee: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants