No observable effect of a glyphosate-based herbicide on two top predators of temporal water bodies

Ujszegi, János and Galbács, Zoltán and Mikó, Zsanett and Hettyey, Attila (2015) No observable effect of a glyphosate-based herbicide on two top predators of temporal water bodies. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY, 34 (2). pp. 307-313. ISSN 0730-7268

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Abstract

It has been implied that the application of pesticides is involved in the world-wide decline of biodiversity, but little is known about the in fl uence 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 17d. No signi fi cant 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 ful fi ll their top-down regulatory role in contaminated ecosystems.

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