The need for an evolutionary approach to ecotoxicology

Straub, Lars; Strobl, Verena; Neumann, Peter

doi:10.1038/s41559-020-1194-6

Cited by 48 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The data further highlights that false-negative results may arise if fundamental mechanisms, such as detoxification abilities and/or trade-off scenarios are not accounted for when assessing survival measurements in toxicology. While a shift in current environmental risk assessments indeed seems long overdue to enable adequate policymaking [4,5], we urge future toxicological studies to focus on measures of fitness if we aim to effectively mitigate the evident role of agrochemicals on the ongoing mass extinction of species [8].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, it is of urgent relevance that sufficient and appropriate test guidelines for solitary bees are agreed upon to enable collecting reliable and replicable data. In conclusion, we urge future ERA to shift focus to ecotoxicological studies measuring fitness [8], if we aim to mitigate the effects of agricultural chemicals and protect natural biodiversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sublethal effects induced by pesticide exposure can affect a wide spectrum of physiological as well as behavioral traits, including biochemical and enzymatic processes, neurophysiology (i.e., learning and orientation), ontogenesis, immune capacities, or reproductive traits [7]. In light of evolutionary biology, sublethal effects on fitness are likely to have detrimental consequences [8], and such effects are known to occur after neonicotinoid exposure [9][10][11]. Neonicotinoid insecticides and glyphosate-based herbicides are among the most common and widely applied pesticides in current agricultural practices [12], and are very likely to be found in combination [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Positive Correlation between Pesticide Consumption and Longevity in Solitary Bees: Are We Overlooking Fitness Trade-Offs?

Strobl

Camenzind

Minnameyer

et al. 2020

Insects

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The ubiquitous use of pesticides is one major driver for the current loss of biodiversity, and the common practice of simultaneously applying multiple agrochemicals may further contribute. Insect toxicology currently has a strong focus on survival to determine the potential hazards of a chemical routinely used in risk evaluations. However, studies revealing no effect on survival or even indicating enhanced survival are likely to be misleading, if potential trade-offs between survival and other physiological factors are overlooked. Here, we used standard laboratory experiments to investigate the sublethal (i.e., food consumption) and lethal (i.e., survival) effects of two common agricultural pesticides (Roundup® and clothianidin) on adult female solitary bees, Osmia bicornis. The data showed no significant effect of the treatment on cumulative survival; however, a significant positive correlation between herbicide and insecticide exposure and age was revealed, i.e., bees exposed to higher dosages lived longer. As no significant differences in daily food consumption were observed across treatment groups, increased food intake can be excluded as a factor leading to the prolonged survival. While this study does not provide data on fitness effects, two previous studies using solitary bees observed significant negative effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on fitness, yet not on survival. Thus, we conjecture that the observed non-significant effects on longevity may result from a trade-off between survival and reproduction. The data suggest that a focus on survival can lead to false-negative results and it appears inevitable to include fitness or at least tokens of fitness at the earliest stage in future risk assessments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Positive Correlation between Pesticide Consumption and Longevity in Solitary Bees: Are We Overlooking Fitness Trade-Offs?

Strobl

Camenzind

Minnameyer

et al. 2020

Insects

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“…Therefore, we emphasize the need to fully incorporate long-term effects, combined exposure scenarios and ants as model organisms in holistic future risk assessments. We argue that incorporating fitness as a key endpoint variable in future pesticide risk assessment schemes may substantially help to ensure more reliable and robust stressor evaluations 25 . This would subsequently mean that for eusocial insects the lifetime reproductive output of sexuals should be assessed either directly or with a reliable proxy in multi-generation laboratory essays to mitigate the future impacts of chemicals and other stressors on biodiversity 25 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Harmful impacts on cognitive abilities, foraging behaviour, immune functions, colony development, fertility and reproductive output have already been reported to influence insects at individual, colony and community levels 16 , 23 , 24 . Of particular concern is a reduction in fitness, as this ultimately governs the state of all wild populations 25 . Social insects, which are to be considered among the most important insects from an ecological perspective 26 , are unsurprisingly also affected by exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides 24 , 27 , 28 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Varying impact of neonicotinoid insecticide and acute bee paralysis virus across castes and colonies of black garden ants, Lasius niger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Schläppi

Kettler

Glauser

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Pesticides and pathogens are known drivers of declines in global entomofauna. However, interactions between pesticides and viruses, which could range from antagonistic, over additive to synergistic, are poorly understood in ants. Here, we show that in ants the impact of single and combined pesticide and virus stressors can vary across castes and at the colony level. A fully-crossed laboratory assay was used to evaluate interactions between a sublethal dose of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam and Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) in black garden ants, Lasius niger. After monitoring colonies over 64 weeks, body mass, neonicotinoid residues and virus titres of workers and queens, as well as worker behavioural activity were measured. ABPV, but not thiamethoxam, reduced activity of workers. Neonicotinoid exposure resulted in reduced body mass of workers, but not of queens. Further, thiamethoxam facilitated ABPV infections in queens, but not in workers. Overall, virus exposure did not compromise detoxification and body mass, but one colony showed high virus titres and worker mortality. Although the data suggest additive effects at the level of individuals and castes, co-exposure with both stressors elicited antagonistic effects on colony size. Our results create demand for long-term holistic risk assessment of individual stressors and their interactions to protect biodiversity.

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Social status modulates the behavioral and physiological consequences of a chemical pollutant in animal groups

McCallum

Dey

Červený

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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The social environment (i.e., the suite of social interactions that occur among individuals that can result in variation in social ranks) is a commonly overlooked aspect of biology when scientists evaluate the effects of chemical contaminants. The social environment, however, represents the arena in which individual‐level performance shapes group‐ or population‐level outcomes and may therefore mediate many of the ultimate consequences of chemicals for wildlife. Here, we evaluated the role that the social environment plays in determining the consequences of pollutant exposure. We exposed groups of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) to an emerging pharmaceutical pollutant that is commonly detected in freshwaters (the benzodiazepine, oxazepam) and allowed them to form dominance hierarchies. Exposure affected dominant and subordinate fish differently, causing fish to become less aggressive at high doses and subordinate fish to become more competitively successful at low doses. These perturbations had further consequences for growth, fin damage, and survival. Exposure also modulated physiological stress in the hierarchy, and social status itself affected how much oxazepam was absorbed in tissues, potentially creating a dynamic feedback loop that further influences the asymmetric effects of exposure on differing social statuses. Many effects followed a “U‐shaped” dose‐response curve, highlighting the importance of nonlinear, low‐dose effects. Altogether, we show that social structure in animal groups can interact with and modulate the effects of an environmental contaminant. We underscore the need to account for an organism’s natural ecological context, including their social environment, in future experiments and environmental risk assessments to predict the effects of chemical contaminants on wildlife.

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The need for an evolutionary approach to ecotoxicology

Cited by 48 publications

References 11 publications

Positive Correlation between Pesticide Consumption and Longevity in Solitary Bees: Are We Overlooking Fitness Trade-Offs?

Positive Correlation between Pesticide Consumption and Longevity in Solitary Bees: Are We Overlooking Fitness Trade-Offs?

Varying impact of neonicotinoid insecticide and acute bee paralysis virus across castes and colonies of black garden ants, Lasius niger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Social status modulates the behavioral and physiological consequences of a chemical pollutant in animal groups

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