Behavioural Responses of Unio tumidus Freshwater Mussels to Pesticide Contamination

Abstract

A pesticide is a chemical substance used for the disposal of pests, such as insects, weeds, invertebrates, or rodents. Pesticides interfere with the normal metabolism of the target species; however, some of them may inadvertently affect organisms other than those targeted. Increased quantities of pesticides in water disturb various ecological processes and may increase the mortality rate of various native species of flora and fauna. One of the groups of organisms that are at the greatest risk from the adverse effects of pesticides is the bivalves. This study was designed to assess the behavioural reaction of bivalves to widespread pesticides. As a representative example, the Polish native Unio tumidus (Philipsson 1788) was used. The study investigated different groups of toxic pesticides, such as herbicides (lenacil), insecticides (thiacloprid, DDT and dichlorvos), and fungicides (tebuconazole), in concentrations of 10 mg L −1 . The results showed various behavioural reactions of bivalves to the pesticides. The most evident were activity time and shell opening rate. Moreover, as a result of DDVP contamination, effects were recorded in terms of shell opening level as well as rapid onset of death. Among the five analysed plant protection products, the most toxic was DDVP. Its presence caused adductor muscle paralysis in all analysed individuals. The least toxic pesticides were DDT and thiacloprid. A strong reaction to lenacil was observed especially in the shell opening rate. Tebuconazole caused significant reductions in activity. Despite the fact that the impact of pesticides on ecosystems is under regular observation, with the use of a wide range of scientific techniques, the use of bivalves was shown to have considerable potential for water quality monitoring.

Impact of Neonicotinoids to Aquatic Invertebrates—In Vitro Studies on Mytilus galloprovincialis: A Review

“…However, when all tissues are directly exposed to the external environment, if pollutants are present, the body easily comes into contact with xenobiotics or undergoes oxidative stress [93,98,99]. In this case, the mussels protect themselves by closing their shells and slowing down the metabolism, thus facing unfavorable conditions [92,98,[100][101][102]. Therefore, they reduce or completely block the formation of fibers [93,98,100].…”

A Review of Key Features and Their Implementation in Unstructured, Structured, and Agent‐Based Population Models for Ecological Risk Assessment

“…In the context of ERA, the role of behavior can be considered for both how it affects an organism's exposure to a stressor of interest and how it may be altered by stressor exposure. There are numerous examples of stressor impacts on the behavior of organisms in the context of ecotoxicological laboratory studies, which could lead to altered feeding patterns, movement speed and patterns (including local movements as well as migration), predator avoidance, aggression, et cetera, when considered in an ecological context (Hedgespeth et al 2014; Nabe‐Nielsen et al 2014; Chmist et al 2019). An example is avoidance behavior, which can be driven by the stressor and impacts exposure to the stressor (Chaumot et al 2003).…”

The effects of inflow of agricultural biogas digestate on bivalves’ behavior

“…Responsible Editor: Bruno Nunes Many freshwater organisms have been used in biological monitoring including mussels, macroinvertebrates, fish, bacteria, algae, and vascular plants (Bae and Park 2014;Chmist et al 2019;Błachuta et al 2014;Brabec and Szoszkiewicz 2006;Mazur et al 2016Mazur et al , 2018. Benthic macroinvertebrates show sensitivity to many physical, chemical, and biological disturbances occurring in the aquatic ecosystems such as heavy metals, hydro-morphological degradation, nutrient enrichment, and acidification (Błachuta et al 2014;Li et al 2010;Mazur et al 2016Mazur et al , 2018.…”

“…Using the recognized shell opening and closing pattern of mussels, it is possible to monitor water quality. With contaminant in water, mussel will close their shell either totally or partially depending on the concentration of the contaminant, while in the absence of contaminants, mussel keeps their shells more open (Bae and Park 2014 ; Chmist et al 2019 ). As filter feeders, mussels are particularly susceptible to water, organic, and inorganic chemicals (Hartmann et al 2016 ).…”