Toxicity of the fungicide trifloxystrobin on tadpoles and its effect on fish-tadpole interaction

JUNGES, C. M., ; PELTZER P. M., ; LAJMANOVICH R. C., ; ATTADEMO A. M. ; BASSÓ A

CHEMOSPHERE

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 p. 1348 - 1354

0045-6535

Contamination of aquatic systems is a major environmental stress that can interfere with predator?preyinteractions, altering prey or predator behavior differentially. We determined toxicity parameters of thefungicide trifloxystrobin (TFS) and examined its effects on predation rate, using a fish predator (Synbranchusmarmoratus) and four anuran tadpole species as prey (Rhinella arenarum, Physalaemus santafecinus,Leptodactylus latrans, and Elachistocleis bicolor). TFS was not equally toxic to the four tadpole species, E.bicolor being the most sensitive species, followed by P. santafecinus, R. arenarum, and L. latrans. Predationrates were evaluated using different treatments that combined predator and prey exposed or not to thisfungicide. TFS would alter the outcome of eel?tadpole interaction by reducing prey movements; thus,prey detection would decrease and therefore tadpole survival would increase. In addition, eels preyedselectively upon non-exposed tadpoles avoiding the exposed ones almost all throughout the period evaluated.Predation rate differed among prey species; such differences were not due to TFS exposure, but tointerspecific differences in behavior. The mechanism that would explain TFS-induced reduction in predationrates remains unclear; however, what is clear is that sublethal TFS concentrations have the potentialto alter prey behavior, thereby indirectly altering predator?prey interactions. In addition, we considerthat predator?prey relationships are measurable responses of toxicant exposure and provide ecologicalinsight into how contaminants modify predator?prey interactions.