Exposure, but not timing of exposure, to a sulfonylurea herbicide alters larval development and behaviour in an amphibian species

Abstract

Environmental contamination is one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. Wetlands are particularly susceptible to contamination and species inhabiting these habitats are subjected to pollutants during sensitive phases of their development. In this study, tadpoles of a widespread amphibian, the spined toad (Bufo spinosus), were exposed to environmental concentrations of nicosulfuron (0 μg/L; 0.15 ± 0.05 μg/L and 0.83 ± 0.04 μg/L), a sulfonylurea herbicide, during different phases of development. Tadpoles were exposed during embryonic (12.98 ± 0.90 days) or larval development (93.74± 0.85 days), or throughout both phases, and we quantified development duration, morphological traits and behavioural features as responses to exposure. Developing tadpoles exposed to nicosulfuron were larger, but with smaller body, and had shorter but wider tail muscles. They were also more active and swam faster than control tadpoles and showed diverging patterns of behavioural complexity. We showed that higher concentrations had greater effects on individuals than lower concentrations, but the timing of nicosulfuron exposure did not influence the metrics studied: Exposure to nicosulfuron triggered similar effects irrespective of the developmental stages at which exposure occurred. These results further indicate that transient exposure (e.g., during embryonic development) can induce long-lasting effects throughout larval development to metamorphosis. Our study confirms that contaminants at environmental concentrations can have strong consequences on non-target organisms. Our results emphasize the need for regulation agencies and policy makers to consider sublethal concentrations of sulfonulyrea herbicides, such as nicosulfuron, as a minimum threshold in their recommendations.

Keywords: Amphibian; Behaviour; DFA; Herbicide; Morphology.