1. Effects of pesticides on community structure and ecosystem functions in agricultural streams of three biogeographical regions in Europe
- Author
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Ralf B. Schäfer, Thierry Caquet, Laurent Lagadic, Katri Siimes, Matthias Liess, Ralf Mueller, Institute for Ecology and Environmental Chemistry, University Lüneburg, Department of System Ecotoxicology [UFZ Leipzig], Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Écologie et santé des écosystèmes (ESE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Research Programme for Contaminants, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Laboratory for Environmental Analytics, Energieversorgung Weser-Ems AG (EWE AG), and Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
- Subjects
River ecosystem ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Fresh Water ,010501 environmental sciences ,01 natural sciences ,Recovery ,MACROINVERTEBRE AQUATIQUE ,Biomonitoring ,Biomass ,Waste Management and Disposal ,Finland ,2. Zero hunger ,[SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment ,Biomass (ecology) ,Macroinvertebrates ,Ecology ,Community structure ,Agriculture ,Pollution ,Chemistry ,Biodegradation, Environmental ,France ,europe ,Environmental Monitoring ,Environmental Engineering ,TRAIT BIOLOGIQUE ,BIOINDICATION ,STREAMS ,species traits ,finlande ,Environmental Chemistry ,Animals ,Ecosystem ,Pesticides ,Relative species abundance ,pesticide ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,aquatic ,15. Life on land ,Pesticide ,DEGRADATION DE LA LITIERE ,Leaf-litter breakdown ,Plant Leaves ,Daphnia ,13. Climate action ,scandinavie ,Environmental science ,Water Pollutants, Chemical ,rivière - Abstract
There is a paucity of large-scale field investigations on the effects of organic toxicants on stream macro invertebrate community structure and ecosystem functions. We investigated a total of 29 streams in two study areas of France and Finland for pesticide exposure, invertebrates and leaf-litter breakdown. To link pesticide exposure and community composition we applied the trait-based Species At Risk (SPEAR) indicator system. In the French region, pesticide stress was associated with a decrease in the relative abundance and number of sensitive species in the communities. The presence of undisturbed upstream reaches partly compensated the effects of pesticide contamination. Functional effects of pesticides were identified by a 2.5-fold reduction of the leaf-litter breakdown rate that was closely correlated with the structural changes in the contaminated streams. No effects of pesticides were observed in Finnish streams since contamination with pesticides was very low. In a follow-up analysis, the SPEAR approach successfully discriminated between reference and contaminated sites across different biogeographical regions, also including results of a previous field study in North Germany. Furthermore, change of the community structure was detectable at a concentration range as low as 1/100 to 1/1000 the acute 48 h-LC50 of Daphnia magna. Our findings demonstrate that pesticides may influence the structure and function of lotic ecosystems and that the SPEAR approach can be used as a powerful tool in biomonitoring over large spatial scales. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2007
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