A new method for ranking mode‐specific sensitivity of freshwater arthropods to insecticides and its relationship to biological traits

The problem of how to deal with species sensitivity differences to toxic substances has been addressed successfully with the species sensitivity distribution (SSD), yet this has not increased understanding about the underlying mechanisms of sensitivity. Other researchers have identified the mode of action of chemicals and also biological traits of species as determinants for sensitivity, yet no systematic approach combines these factors. To achieve this, first existing data on organophosphate, carbamate, and pyrethroid toxicity and mode of action and also species trait information were mined. Second, we linked taxon sensitivity to their traits at the family level to generate empirical and mechanistic hypotheses about sensitivity-trait relationships. In this way, a mode-specific sensitivity (MSS) ranking method was developed, and tested at the taxonomic level of family and genus. The application of several quality criteria indicated overall confidence in rankings, but confidence in exact taxon rank was less certain, due to data insufficiency for certain groups. The MSS rankings were found to be applicable for trait-based approaches and were successfully linked to existing trait data to identify traits with predictive potential. Although this empirical analysis cannot test causality relationships between traits and sensitivity, testable hypotheses were generated, for further experimental investigation. Single traits as well as combinations of traits can be used to predict laboratory sensitivity to the substances tested, although associations were not as strong as in previous studies. We conclude that existing trait data are not suitable for every trait-based research question and that important traits remain to be identified and quantified in relation to the processes of toxicity, i.e., the toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics.

[1]  A. Hendriks,et al.  The power of size: A meta-analysis reveals consistency of allometric regressions , 2007 .

[2]  D. Baird,et al.  Age- and Sex-Related Variation in Sensitivity to the Pyrethroid Cypermethrin in the Marine Copepod Acartia tonsa Dana , 2002, Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[3]  M. Liess,et al.  Rank Ordering of Macroinvertebrate Species Sensitivityto Toxic Compounds by Comparison with That of Daphnia magna , 2001, Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[4]  K. Cummins,et al.  Lipid content, fatty acid composition, and the effect of diet on fats of aquatic insects , 1985 .

[5]  Philip N. Smith,et al.  Pesticide resistance from historical agricultural chemical exposure in Thamnocephalus platyurus (Crustacea: Anostraca). , 2009, Environmental pollution.

[6]  M. Lafont,et al.  Using aquatic macroinvertebrate species traits to build test batteries for sediment toxicity assessment: Accounting for the diversity of potential biological responses to toxicants , 2005, Environmental toxicology and chemistry.

[7]  David S. Leigh,et al.  Stream macroinvertebrate response to catchment urbanisation (Georgia, U.S.A.) , 2003 .

[8]  B. Beisner,et al.  Functional diversity of crustacean zooplankton communities: towards a trait‐based classification , 2007 .

[9]  C. Townsend,et al.  Species traits in relation to a habitat templet for river systems , 1994 .

[10]  Donald J Baird,et al.  Trait-Based Ecological Risk Assessment (TERA): The New Frontier , 2008, Integrated environmental assessment and management.

[11]  Matthias Liess,et al.  Relative sensitivity distribution of aquatic invertebrates to organic and metal compounds , 2004, Environmental toxicology and chemistry.

[12]  Bard,et al.  Multixenobiotic resistance as a cellular defense mechanism in aquatic organisms. , 2000, Aquatic toxicology.

[13]  M. Liess,et al.  Potential of 11 Pesticides to Initiate Downstream Drift of Stream Macroinvertebrates , 2008, Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[14]  Daniel Chessel,et al.  A fuzzy coding approach for the analysis of long‐term ecological data , 1994 .

[15]  J. Moreteau,et al.  Illustration de la valeur indicatrice des caractéristiques biologiques des macroinvertébrés d'une communauté benthique à différentes échelles d'observation , 1999 .

[16]  J. Hermens,et al.  Modes of action in ecotoxicology: their role in body burdens, species sensitivity, QSARs, and mixture effects. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[17]  Lorraine Maltby,et al.  Insecticide species sensitivity distributions: Importance of test species selection and relevance to aquatic ecosystems , 2005, Environmental toxicology and chemistry.

[18]  J. Casida,et al.  Serine hydrolase targets of organophosphorus toxicants. , 2005, Chemico-biological interactions.

[19]  Philippe Usseglio-Polatera,et al.  Biological and ecological traits of benthic freshwater macroinvertebrates: relationships and definition of groups with similar traits , 2000 .

[20]  J. Belgers,et al.  Comparison of Laboratory Single Species and Field Population-Level Effects of the Pyrethroid Insecticide λ-Cyhalothrin on Freshwater Invertebrates , 2004, Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[21]  M. Liess,et al.  Analyzing effects of pesticides on invertebrate communities in streams , 2005, Environmental toxicology and chemistry.

[22]  D. Baird,et al.  A comparative study of genotype sensitivity to acute toxic stress using clones of Daphnia magna straus. , 1991, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[23]  J. Jenkins,et al.  Respiratory strategy is a major determinant of [3H]water and [14C]chlorpyrifos uptake in aquatic insects , 2002 .

[24]  Donald J Baird,et al.  Using biological traits to predict species sensitivity to toxic substances. , 2007, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[25]  Donald J. Baird,et al.  Trait patterns of aquatic insects across gradients of flow-related factors: a multivariate analysis of Canadian national data , 2008 .

[26]  D. Kashian.  Toxaphene detoxification and acclimation in Daphnia magna: do cytochrome P-450 enzymes play a role? , 2004, Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Toxicology & pharmacology : CBP.

[27]  L. Maltby,et al.  Spray drift of pesticides and stream macroinvertebrates: experimental evidence of impacts and effectiveness of mitigation measures. , 2008, Environmental pollution.

[28]  Joop L. M. Hermens,et al.  Variation in Sensitivity of Aquatic Species to Toxicants: Practical Consequences for Effect Assessment of Chemical Substances , 2000, Environmental management.

[29]  J. Jenkins,et al.  Temperature influences on water permeability and chlorpyrifos uptake in aquatic insects with differing respiratory strategies , 2003, Environmental toxicology and chemistry.

[30]  N. LeRoy Poff,et al.  Functional trait niches of North American lotic insects: traits-based ecological applications in light of phylogenetic relationships , 2006, Journal of the North American Benthological Society.

[31]  Theodore Garland,et al.  Aquatic insect ecophysiological traits reveal phylogenetically based differences in dissolved cadmium susceptibility , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.