Evaluation of the toxicity of the sediments from an agroecosytem to two native species, Hyalella curvispina (CRUSTACEA: AMPHIPODA) and Boana pulchella (AMPHIBIA: ANURA), as potential environmental indicators.

SANSINEÑA JA; PELUSO L; SALGADO COSTA C; DEMETRIO PM; MAC LOUGHLIN TM; MARINO DJG; ALCALDE L; NATALE GS

ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2018 vol. 93 p. 100 - 110

1470-160X

In a study area chosen outside the city of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina), two zones were selected havingdifferent types and magnitudes of agrarian activity: one represented mainly by grasslands with a low degree ofanthropic influence, the other by intensive cultivation under cover with a high level of anthropic impact. Thefirst objective was to assess the toxicity of the sediments from the study areas to two local species and comparethe responses of both bioassays (assessing mortality and growth inhibition) in a standardized test protocol.Hyalella curvispina (Hc) is a validated indicator of sediment toxicity; Boana pulchella (Bp) has likewise provenuseful as a study model through its sensitivity to different pollutants. The comparison was performed by multivariateanalyses at the time of evaluating sediment toxicity in a stretch of the Carnaval Stream that flowsthrough an agroecosystem. The second objective was to evaluate the presence of morphologic abnormalities,among other supplemental endpoints (behavior and development), in tadpoles of Bp since those features aregood indicators of sublethal effects. Hc turned out to be the more sensitive to the chemical profile of theagroecosystem. We detected two herbicides, trifluralin and acetochlor, and three insecticides, chlorpyrifos,endosulfan, and lambda-cyhalothrin and in this test proposed Bp as a second indicator of sediment toxicity. Thisresearch was the first to use larvae of Bp to evaluate the toxicity of sediments of a particular site. The analysis ofthe occurrence of morphologic abnormalities enabled the detection of toxicities in locations where other endpointsremained unaffected. We intend to incorporate this species into sediment testing since Bp is a prominentanuran in pampean agroecosystems whose utility in toxicity bioassays has been verified by numerous ecotoxicologicalstudies. In conclusion, both the species Hc and Bp should be considered appropriate as tests organismsfor the assessment of sediment quality as well as effective and promising environmental indicators