Abstract
The release of contaminants as herbicides, fungicides and insecticides into the environment has been listed as one of the six major contributors to the global decline of reptiles. Although reptiles may face severe risk from contaminants due to their ecology and physiology, they are currently less studied than other vertebrate groups. In the present work, we investigated if and how different types of field treatment (conventional and organic) affected the health status of Italian wall lizard (Podarcis siculus) individuals in central Italy. We chose a multi-biomarker approach that evaluated the biological responses of lizards to the treatment by means of AChE activity in the nervous system, biotransformation enzymes activities and oxidative stress in the liver, micronuclei frequency measured in the erythrocytes, and rate of intestinal parasitic infection. Our findings showed evidence of effects of treatment in conventional areas and between sexes with significant oxidative stress due to hydroxyl radicals, that caused DNA damage. No difference of intestinal parasite infections was found among treatments. Podarcis siculus seems to be a good bioindicator in ecotoxicological studies and potentially in risk assessment of pesticides, although further analyses in laboratory and in the field are needed to achieve more accurate quantification of specific pesticide effects in relation to known exposure history and to understand if other mechanisms were involved in the toxicity and detoxification process of pesticides for this species.
Highlights
The intensive release of pesticides as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides in the modern agriculture has been listed as one of the major contributor to the global decline of reptiles (Gibbons et al 2000; Todd et al 2010; Mingo et al 2017)
No significant differences in body condition (BC) were observed across treatments (ANOVA, F = 1.08, p = 0.35) (Table 2 “Appendix”)
As for MN test, lizards collected in conventionally treated fields showed a significant higher erythrocyte micronucleus frequency than lizards collected elsewhere (p < 0.05)
Summary
The intensive release of pesticides as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides in the modern agriculture has been listed as one of the major contributor to the global decline of reptiles (Gibbons et al 2000; Todd et al 2010; Mingo et al 2017). Pesticides are known to primarily act on both target and non-target organisms through biochemical and molecular processes (Amiard-Triquet et al 2012) They can propagate through higher levels of biological organization (cells, tissues and organs) producing cascading consequences on organisms and populations (Fossi and Leonzio 1993). Given this complex scenario characterized by a suite of possible effects involving different processes and scales, preliminary studies suggested to approach the analysis of pesticide impact on reptiles by combining the use of different cellular and molecular biomarkers in order to detect early-warning signals of contaminant exposure or effect, together with analysis at organism level such as body condition or intestinal parasitic infection (Livingstone 1993; Capriglione et al 2011)
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