Freshwater shrimps as sensitive test species for the risk assessment of pesticides in the tropics

Abstract

The aquatic risk assessment of pesticides in tropical areas has often been disputed to rely on toxicity data generated from tests performed with temperate species. Given the differences in ecosystem structure between temperate and tropical ecosystems, test species other than those used in temperate regions have been proposed as surrogates for tropical aquatic effect assessments. Freshwater shrimps, for example are important components of tropical freshwater ecosystems, both in terms of their role in ecosystem functioning and their economic value. In the present study, available toxicity data of (tropical and sub-tropical) freshwater shrimps for insecticides and fungicides were compiled and compared with those available for Daphnia magna and other aquatic invertebrates. Freshwater shrimps appeared to be especially sensitive to GABA-gated chloride channel antagonist and sodium channel modulator insecticides. However, shrimp taxa showed a moderate and low sensitivity to acetylcholinesterase inhibiting insecticides and fungicides respectively. Implications for the use of freshwater shrimps in tropical pesticide effect assessments and research needs are discussed.

Keywords: Ecological risk assessment; Freshwater shrimps; Fungicides; Insecticides; Relative tolerance (Trel); Species sensitivity distributions; Tropics.