Effects of endosulfan in freshwater pond communities

Abstract

AbstractPesticide use has led to ubiquitous contamination of natural habitats that can cause direct and indirect effects on nontarget organisms. Laboratory toxicity tests are valuable for evaluating the direct lethal effects of pesticides, but whether species differences in sensitivity identified from such tests are representative of more natural conditions is unknown. Studies of pesticide effects on communities are needed to understand the indirect effects of pesticides, but many such studies are focused on simplified communities and overlook the contribution of higher trophic levels (i.e., lethal predators), which can have interactive effects with pesticides and may play a large role in influencing community dynamics in contaminated habitats. Much of the research investigating pesticides in communities has focused on organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroids, whereas organochlorines are understudied, despite the fact that they can be highly toxic and persist in the environment. We investigated the e...