New insight into effect of pesticides on aquatic life
Research by an international team of scientists has provided new insight into the effects of pesticides on shrimps and snails. The study considered three pesticides โ diazinon, imidacloprid and propiconazole โ and their toxicokinetic effect on Gammarus pulex and Gammarus fossarm (both freshwater shrimp) and Lymnae stagnalis (pond snail). Previous research has shown that aquatic invertebrate respond to pollution differently, with a large variation in sensitivity among organisms. Not only do species vary in their sensitivities to a given toxicants, given species can vary greatly in sensitivity across toxicants. The latest study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, studies the biotransformation and distribution of the toxicants as a means of explaining the variation in sensitivity to chemicals. โWe produced images of the pesticide distribution within the shrimps and snails to better understand which organs are at risk,โ said Dr Roman Ashauler from the University of Yorkโs Environmental Department, previously at Eawag where the research was conducted. โIt turns out that for some pesticides the distribution in the body matters a lot, whereas for other pesticides it is the organismโs ability to detoxify.โ Ashauler said the study has introduced a systematic way of understanding the differences between speciesโ reactions to pesticides.
Imaging the distribution of a pesticide in a freshwater shrimp. Blue and green indicate low concentrations, red and brown indicate high concentrations. Credit:Eawag/Harlan Laboratories