Abstract
Natural populations are commonly exposed to complex stress scenarios, including anthropogenic contamination and their biological enemies (e.g., parasites). The study of the pollutant-parasite interplay is especially important, given the need for adequate regulations to promote improved ecosystem protection. In this study, a host-parasite model system (Daphnia spp. and the microparasitic yeast Metschnikowia bicuspidata) was used to explore the reciprocal effects of contamination by common agrochemical fungicides (copper sulphate and tebuconazole) and parasite challenge. We conducted 21-day life history experiments with two host clones exposed to copper (0.00, 25.0, 28.8 and 33.1 μg L-1) or tebuconazole (0.00, 154, 192 and 240 μg L-1), in the absence or presence of the parasite. For each contaminant, the experimental design consisted of 2 Daphnia clones × 4 contaminant concentrations × 2 parasite treatments × 20 replicates = 320 experimental units. Copper and tebuconazole decreased Daphnia survival or reproduction, respectively, whilst the parasite strongly reduced host survival. Most importantly, while copper and parasite effects were mostly independent, tebuconazole suppressed infection. In a follow-up experiment, we tested the effect of a lower range of tebuconazole concentrations (0.00, 6.25, 12.5, 25.0, 50.0 and 100 μg L-1) crossed with increasing parasite challenge (2 Daphnia clones × 6 contaminant concentrations × 2 parasite levels × 20 replicates = 480 experimental units). Suppression of infection was confirmed at environmentally relevant concentrations (> 6.25 μg L-1), irrespective of the numbers of parasite challenge. The ecological consequences of such a suppression of infection include interferences in host population dynamics and diversity, as well as community structure and energy flow across the food web, which could upscale to ecosystem level given the important role of parasites.
Highlights
A multiple stressor framework is required to understand the effects of environmental change under an ecologically relevant perspective [1,2,3]
Bearing in mind the putative reciprocal effect of disease and pollution, we investigated the interaction between parasitism and fungicides using a host (Daphnia spp.) × parasite (Metschnikowia bicuspidata) model system
This study was motivated by the need for a clarification on how pesticide pollution affects the eventual spread of diseases [23,42]
Summary
A multiple stressor framework is required to understand the effects of environmental change under an ecologically relevant perspective [1,2,3]. Standard ecotoxicity tests determine the effects of single contaminants only, and may under- or overestimate hazards if interactive scenarios with other stress factors are not considered [2,4]. The sensitivity of organisms may be altered when they are simultaneously exposed to environmental changes [2], such as temperature increase [3,6,7] or reduced food availability [8,9]. Within a risk assessment framework, it is desirable to focus on multiple stress scenarios, because they can provide a more accurate and realistic prediction than individual stressor effects [4,9]
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