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No observable effect of a glyphosate‐based herbicide on two top predators of temporal water bodies
Author(s) -
Ujszegi János,
Gál Zoltán,
Mikó Zsanett,
Hettyey Attila
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.2798
Subject(s) - glyphosate , predation , observable , apex predator , environmental science , biology , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics
It has been implied that the application of pesticides is involved in the world‐wide decline of biodiversity, but little is known about the influence of these chemicals on key predators of temporary wetlands. The direct impacts were examined of a frequently applied glyphosate‐based herbicide on larval Aeshna cyanea (Müller, 1764; Odonata, Insecta) and adult male Lissotriton vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758; Caudata, Amphibia), 2 top predators of Central European ephemeral ponds. The effects of herbicide exposure were measured on survival, behavior, body mass change, and predatory activity in an outdoor mesocosm experiment lasting for 17 d. No significant effects of exposure were observed in either predator species. The results suggest that the herbicide has no immediate effect on the predators studied at environmentally relevant concentrations and that these predators can also fulfill their top‐down regulatory role in contaminated ecosystems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2014;9999:1–7. © 2014 SETAC