Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31278447›Full record

ArticleEcotoxicology (London, England)2019

Assessing predator-prey interactions in a chemically altered aquatic environment: the effects of DDT on Xenopus laevis and Culex sp. larvae interactions and behaviour.

Josie South, Tarryn L Botha, Nico J Wolmarans, Victor Wepener, Olaf L F Weyl

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Ecotoxicology (London, England), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Frontiers in quantifying wildlife behavioural responses to chemical pollution.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Josie SouthDST/NRF Research Chair in Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology Laboratory, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa. j.south@saiab.ac.za.
Tarryn L BothaUnit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Water Research Group, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
Nico J WolmaransUnit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Water Research Group, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
Victor WepenerUnit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Water Research Group, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
Olaf L F WeylDST/NRF Research Chair in Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology Laboratory, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Behavioural assays are used as a tool to understand ecotoxicological effects on organisms, but are often not applied in an ecologically relevant context. Assessment of the effect of chemical contaminants on behaviours relating to fitness and trophic interactions for example, requires incorporating predator-prey interactions to create impact assessments. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a controlled substance but is still regularly used as a form of mosquito control. There is little explicit information on the effect of DDT on animal behaviour and the consequent effects upon trophic interactions. This study uses a 3 × 2 factorial design to assess the feeding behaviour of Xenopus laevis toward Culex sp. larvae when supplied with different prey cues. We also assess the behavioural responses of mosquito larvae when supplied with no threat cue and predator threat cues when exposed to 0 µg/L, 2 µg/L and 20 µg/L DDT. There was a significant "DDT exposure" x "prey cue" interaction whereby DDT significantly decreased the foraging behaviour of X. laevis towards live prey cues, however there was no effect of DDT on X. laevis response to olfactory prey cues. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane exposure caused mosquito larvae to appear hyperactive regardless of DDT concentration. Mosquito larvae anti-predator response was significantly dampened when exposed to 2 µg/L DDT, however when exposed to 20 µg/L the anti-predator responses were not impaired. Our results indicate a complex interplay in trophic interactions under DDT exposure, wherein effects are mediated depending on species and concentration. There are possible implications regarding reduced anti-predator behaviour in the prey species but also reduced foraging capacity in the predator, which could drive changes in ecosystem energy pathways. We demonstrate that in order to quantify effects of pesticides upon trophic interactions it is necessary to consider ecologically relevant behaviours of both predator and prey species.

Indexed as

AnimalsCuesCulexDDTDose-Response Relationship, DrugFood ChainInsecticidesLarvaPredatory BehaviorWater Pollutants, ChemicalXenopus laevisDDTInsecticidesWater Pollutants, ChemicalContaminantsDichlorodiphenyltrichloroethaneForagingPesticidesTrophic interactionsXenopus laevis

Identifiers

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.