Aquatic mesocosms exposed to a fungicide in different climate zones: environmental
response
C. Shinn1*, R. Ribeiro 1, M. Moreira-Santos 1, E. Espindola 2, R. Muller 3
1 IMAR-Instituto do Mar, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Apartado 3046,
3001-401, Coimbra, Portugal; 2 NEEA-Núcleo de Estudos em Ecossistemas Aquáticos,
CRHEA, USP, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil; 3 LOEWE Biodiversity and Climate
Research Centre (BiKF), Frankfurt, Germany
*Presenting author contact: candida.shinn@gmail.com
Current Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) of pesticides does not take into account
environmental and biological differences between climate zones (CZ), thus neglecting
parameters that strongly influence the functioning of natural ecosystems and the behaviour
of the contaminants per se. It is often assumed that tropical species have equal sensitivities
to temperate species, which may not be the case. Furthermore, toxicity testing in CZ other
than cold temperate has largely depended on standardized tests using cold temperate
species and conditions, which may lead to the underestimation of risks to species from other
CZ.
In order to study the impact of toxicants on aquatic systems in varying climate conditions, we
conducted long-term aquatic mesocosm experiments in three different CZ with identical
methodological design: cold temperate (Frankfurt, Germany), warm temperate (Coimbra,
Portugal), and sub-tropical (São Carlos, Brazil). In each CZ three control mesocosms and
three treated mesocosms (active ingredient: fungicide pyrimethanil applied at 1 mg/L) were
monitored for 12 months post-application. In this presentation (one of two) we sum up the
main environmental differences between the mesocosms tested in the two temperate zones,
and present the environmental response of the systems to the fungicide. Apart from
analysing the chemical shifts, we focus on the importance of long-term studies in evaluating
the recovery capacity of model aquatic ecosystems under stress.
Preferred presentation format: poster