Toxicity of endosulfan to tadpoles of Fejervarya spp. (Anura: Dicroglossidae): mortality and morphological deformities

Abstract

The acute toxicity of endosulfan to the tadpoles of three coexisting species of the anuran genus Fejervarya revealed 96 h LC50 values of 46.715, 6.596, and 3.015 μg l(-1) for Fejervarya sp.1, F. teraiensis and Fejervarya sp.2, respectively. Toxicity of endosulfan was also tested at the sublethal concentrations of 5 and 0.5, and 0.3 and 0.03 μg l(-1) (c 10 and 1% of their respective 96 h LC50 values) in Fejervarya sp.1 and Fejervarya sp.2, and 0.35 and 0.18 μg l(-1) (c 5 and 2.5% of 96 h LC50) in F. teraiensis. Endosulfan was observed to cause mortality at concentrations as low as c 1, 2.5 and 10% of their respective 96 h LC50 values in Fejervarya sp.2, F. teraiensis, and Fejervarya sp.1. Such vulnerabilities are likely to have implications for the survival of natural populations of these co-existing species as well as other anurans present in the study area where pesticide use is relatively high in the tea plantations. Morphological deformities caused by endosulfan comprised failure to develop one or both forelimb in Fejervarya sp.1 and F. teraiensis, stunted hindlimb growth in Fejervarya sp.1, and axial malformation in Fejervarya sp.1 and Fejervarya sp.2. Fore- and hind-limb deformities were likely to have occurred due to the impairment of thyroid metabolism by endosulfan. These effects illustrate the threat that continued endosulfan use poses to natural populations of anuran amphibians.