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La agriculturización es un causante de transformación en los territorios. El actual modelo de agricultura predominante, basado en la aplicación de plagui- cidas para mantener el cultivo saludable y sin competencia, no solo afecta a la especie objetivo sino también a aquellas no blanco, impactando en la biodiversidad local y el funcionamiento de los ecosistemas. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar los cambios en los usos del suelo en la Cuenca Alta del Arroyo Chapaleofú y determinar la toxicidad del clorpirifos sobre una especie no blanco. Para esto, se compararon imágenes clasificadas supervisadas de los años 1989 y 2019 del partido de Tandil (Buenos Aires, Argentina) y se realizó la evaluación de la Concentración Letal 50 (CL50) del insecticida clorpirifos sobre el molusco Physa acuta, a 96 horas de exposición. Se detecta un 74.35% de avance de las tierras destinadas a actividades agrícolas, lo que evidencia el proceso de agriculturización. El molusco Physa acuta tiene una CL50 de 0.55 mg L−1, presentando al mismo tiempo efectos subletales, pese a tratarse de una especie tolerante al químico en cuestión. Debido a lo anterior, es necesario realizar más estudios que permitan determinar los efectos de los múltiples químicos utilizados en la actividad agrícola, considerando exposiciones más prolongadas y con especies más sensibles.

The present study shows the most important results in the sampling carried out in the Río de la Plata river from the year 1993. The main components of the zoobenthos in the studied area were the oligochaetes and nematods, particularly in sectors with high organic matter content and low dissolved oxygen. Tubificidae was very frequent, mainly Limnodrilus claparedeianus. A prevalence of Corbicula fluminea among the mollusks was observed in the coastal area in association with Limnoperma fortunei. This assemblage supports the presence of macroinvertebrates as Hirudinea, Temnocephala, Lumbriculidae, etc. Chironomidae showed an almost constant presence in the internal and intermediate areas of the river. The most frequent microcrustaceous were Copepoda, Cladocera, Ostracoda and their larval forms. In the offshore of the river the mollusks, annelids, crustaceans and nematods were present in the great majority of the sampling sites. Polychaeta were present in 90% of the sampling places being Nephtidae the most abundant genus. Corbicula fluminea dominated in the interior sector of the river and it was replaced by Erodona mactroides and Mactra isabelleana in the external area. Rapana venosa was also observed in this area. Different benthic assemblages were determined and their faunistic composition varied in function of the substrate, silt, size, coast, proximity, organic matter content and food resources.

ABSTRACT One of the most important effects derived from the intensive land use is the increase of nutrient concentration in the aquatic systems due to superficial drainage. Besides, the increment of precipitations in South America connected to the global climate change could intensify these anthropic impacts due to the changes in the runoff pattern and a greater discharge of water in the streams and rivers. The pampean streams are singular environments with high natural nutrient concentrations which could be increased even more if the predictions of global climate change for the area are met. In this context, the effect of experimental nutrient addition on macroinvertebrates in a lowland stream is studied. Samplings were carried out from March 2007 to February 2009 in two reaches (fertilized and unfertilized), upstream and downstream from the input of nutrients. The addition of nutrients caused an increase in the phosphorus concentration in the fertilized reach which was not observed for nitrogen concentration. From all macroinvertebrates studied only two taxa had significant differences in their abundance after fertilization: Corbicula fluminea and Ostracoda. Our results reveal that the disturbance caused by the increase of nutrients on the benthic community depends on basal nutrients concentration. The weak response of macroinvertebrates to fertilization in the pampean streams could be due to their tolerance to high concentrations of nutrients in relation to their evolutionary history in streams naturally enriched with nutrients. Further research concerning the thresholds of nutrients affecting macroinvertebrates and about the adaptive advantages of taxa in naturally eutrophic environments is still needed. This information will allow for a better understanding of the processes of nutrient cycling and for the construction of restoration measures in natural eutrophic ecosystems.