Chronic toxicity of three insecticides (carbaryl,fenthion and lindane) in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis

A chronic intoxication with carbaryl, fenthion and lindane was induced in young snails. The parameter k of the von Bertalanffy's equation showed clearly the growth changes induced by these insecticides. In all cases the fecundity of intoxicated snails was reduced. Among these three insecticides, lindane was the most toxic, carbaryl the least.     

Etude de la toxicite chronique de deux insecticides (carbaryl et lindane) a la generation F 1 de Lymnea stagnalis L. (mollusque gasteropode pulmone). I. Croissance des coquilles

In Lymnea stagnalis (F 1 generation) carbaryl weakly disturbs the growth of the shell with 2 ppm, strongly with 4 ppm (lethal concentration for the young snails).The shell growth inhibition by lindane is correlated with the concentration (1 & 2 ppm). The degree of intoxication of parents is very important. The two insecticides play a complex part in the mineralization of the shell. The effects of lindane on growth and mineralization of the shell have a reversible character.     

Etude de la toxicite chronique de deux insecticides (Carbaryl et Lindane) a la generation Fi de Lymnea Stagnalis L. (Mollusque Gasteropode Pulmone). II. Consequences sur le potentiel reproducteur

In Lymnea stagnalis (F1 generation) carbaryl induces a decrease of fecundity for a given age, correlated with the concentration; this decrease is due to a delay in growth. With ppm of lindane a diminution of fecundity is observed which is more prominent with 2 ppm. The number of egg capsules and the number of eggs per capsule are decreased. In F1 intoxicated snails, the degree of the intoxication of their parents seems to play an important part. When the intoxication is stopped, the reversible character is demonstrated.All these chronic intoxication experiments show that lindane is more injurious than carbaryl for the freshwater snails studied.     

Developpement,Croissance et fecondite de cladoceres en fonction de la temperature et du niveau trophique. Elevage experimental in situ dans deux etangs

Samples of Daphnia longispina, Ceriodaphnia quadrangula and Bosmina longirostris have been simultaneously reared in cages immersed in two fish ponds differing principally by their trophic status.Vital parameters such as duration of postembryonic stage, rate of growth of young and adults as well as fecundity were studied against environmental factors.The importance of food quantity, temperature and of their interaction on size, rate of growth and fecundity was investigated.The magnitude of the discrepancies between these parameters as measured under natural and laboratory conditions is stressed.

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Developpement, Croissance et fecondite de cladoceres en fonction de la temperature et du niveau trophique. Elevage experimental in situ dans deux etangs

Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique et Service de Biologie, Université de l'Etat à Mons     

Action de pesticides chez des insectes en fonction de leur etat physiologique: Etude de 2 insecticides et d'un melange d'herbicides chez les larves aquatiques de cloeon. (Ephemeropteres).

For the larvae of the ephemeron Cloeon, our studies of acute toxicity show that the degradation products of fenthion are more toxic than the insecticide itself.Doses of fenthion and lindane, responsible of a hight mortality, lead to a decrease in the moulting frequency of these larvae. A mixture of herbicides and degradation products of fenthion gave different results.

     

Effects of intermittent starvation on mature Biomphalaria glabrata (Gastropoda: Planorbidae)

Mature Biomphalaria glabrata, submitted to four weeks of varied starvation times (0, 1, 3, 5, 6 & 7 d.week^–1, were thereafter refed during four weeks. The different intermittent starvation times had no significant effect on snails survival. As weekly starvation increased, the rate of change in body weight and fecundity decreased. In snails fed one or two d.week^–1, the rate of change in body weight was negative, while fecundity remained at a low level. Continuous hunger stopped oviposition.Starvation had no further effect on body growth after the first week of refeeding; however, its effect on fecundity remained significant over the two first weeks.     

Effect of avermectin and dicofol on the immatures of the predacious miteAmblyseius gossipi with a special reference to the secondary poisoning effect on the adult female [Acari: Phytoseiidae]

Avermectin at 1 ppm was slightly toxic by contact to the different immature stages of the predacious miteAmblyseius gossipi El-Badry. When immatures ofA. gossipi ingested treated prey on clean leaf discs, the toxicity increased and the resulted ΦΦ oviposited at a significantly lower rate. In contrast, dicofol at 250 ppm was extremely toxic by contact and caused a significant mortality to the immatures when it was ingested. Female mortality increased and fecundity decreased as the time of feeding treated prey increased from 24 h to 192 h. In case of dicofol a permanent depression in reproduction was recorded after feeding treated prey for 144 h. Females ofA. gossipi suffered a depression in reproduction when fed on prey formerly kept on plant leaves treated with avermectin. This depression was reported, only, after 192 h of feeding on prey previously reared on leaves treated with dicofol.      

Facteurs responsables de la distribution des gastéropodes dulcicoles dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent

A study of the freshwater gastropods in the Saint Lawrence river near Montreal was undertaken to characterize the populations living in the benthos and on the vegetation, and to define the effects of a deterioration of water quality.Ninety-eight samples, collected simultaneously from the benthos and on macrophytes, were expressed as the logarithm of each species' relative abundance. WPGMA clustering, principal coordinates and discriminant analysis were used to describe and characterize differences between samples. Diversity was also computed to show the transformations of population structure due to differences in pollution levels.Prosobranch snails predominated in benthic populations while pulmonates characterized vegetation. A decrease in the number of species was the characteristic response to increasing pollution levels upon both types of substrates. High hydrocarbon levels were related to a decrease in the diversity of snail populations on the vegetation only.Predominance of prosobranchs in the benthos and pulmonates on the vegetation could be explained by a differential dependence of those two groups of snails on the aquatic medium, and by considering modes of nutrition. Sporadic oil spills affected the snail populations living on macrophytes.

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Facteurs responsables de la distribution des gastéropodes dulcicoles dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent

     

The influence of host's age on the selectivity of parasitism and fecundity ofTrichogramma

Laboratory studies showed that ♀♀ ofTrichogramma embryophagum (Hartig) andT. semblidis (Aurivillius) when offered an alternative of young and old eggs of the grain moth,Sitotroga cerealella Oliv., prefer ovipositing into young eggs. The fecundity of ♀♀ that are simultaneously offered both young and old eggs was lower in comparison to ♀♀ offered only young eggs (inspite of the fact that in both variants young eggs were in excess). The results suggest that old eggs can inhibit the oviposition of some species ofTrichogramma.      

Vertical variation in fecundity of the intertidal gastropodMonodonta labio caused by different growth rates between tidal zones

Monodonta labio (Gastropoda: Trochidae) occurs in a wide tidal zone on a boulder-covered shore in Amakusa, Japan. To investigate sources of variation in reproductive output within a population, the fecundity ofM. labio was estimated. Regressions of gonad egg counts on shell width were calculated from samples collected bi-weekly at three tidal zones: high, mid and low intertidal. Seasonal fluctuations in the regression revealed that individual females spawn at least three times a year. Variation in fecundity between the three tidal zones was not detected at any time in standard 12 mm snails. Due to the high growth rate in the low zone during the reproductive season, annual fecundity in the low zone was larger than that in the high and mid zones. Thus, tidal zone variation in fecundity ofM. labio was a result of growth variation between tidal zones.     

Repeated Mating and Female Fecundity in the Simultaneously Hermaphroditic Land Snail Arianta arbustorum

Summary

To evaluate the influence of repeated mating on female fecundity in the simultaneously hermaphroditic, self-incompatible land snail Arianta arbus-torum, the number and size of clutches, egg size and hatching success of individuals from 3 populations were determined under conditions of isolation and grouping during one breeding season in a field cage experiment. Only adult snails which had mated and oviposited in the preceding year were used.

Sperm storage enabled isolated individuals to continue with the production of fertilized eggs. Snails kept singly or in groups differed neither in number of clutches laid nor in egg size. But isolated snails laid smaller clutches than did grouped snails. As a result isolated snails produced fewer eggs per breeding season. Hatching success varied greatly between populations and rearing conditions. In general, isolated snails had fewer hatchlings than grouped snails, indicating that individuals prevented from remating suffered a reduced fitness.     

Action competitive d'Helisoma duryi,wetherby (Planorbidae: Helisomatinae) a l'egard de divers mollusques vecteurs de trematodoses humaines et animales. II. Biomphalaria pfeifferi,krauss, Bulinus truncatus sericinus,jickeli et limnea natalensis,krauss

The authors studied biological competition between some african snails (Biomphalaria pfeifferi, Bulinus truncatus sericinus, Limnea natalensis) and Helisoma duryi in the laboratory.The results are irregular and less successful than with the closely related species, Biomphalaria glabrata.

avec la collaboration technique de R. THOMASSET     

The invasion of Biomphalaria pfeifferi by Schistosoma mansoni miracidia and the development of daughter sporocysts

Laboratory experiments have been carried out to determine the susceptibility of Gezira Biomphalaria pfeifferi snails to S. mansoni miracidia and the relationship between miracidia and daughter sporocyst production at the 10–17 day development stage. The relationship between snail numbers, miracidia numbers and water volume has also been studied. Two non susceptible snails, Bulinus truncatus and Cleopatra bulimoides, both of which occur naturally in Gezira canals, were tested to see if they act as decoys for S. mansoni miracidia.The results showed that the B. pfeifferi are 100% susceptible to S. mansoni invasion, at least to the daughter sporocyst development stage. The more miracidia that penetrated the more daughter sporocysts were produced, however individual variation and overlap were great. When one miracidium was released to find one snail it succeeded in low water volumes (5 m, 50 ml), but failed in 5 litres. When 100 miracidia were released mortality of snails was high suggesting superinfection particularly when only one or five snails were available. Among survivors daughter sporocyst counts were very high. Cleopatra and Bulinus snails do have a decoy effect when present in large numbers. In their presence the number of infected snails was marginally reduced and the number of daughter sporocysts greatly reduced. However, if superinfection is reduced by decoy effect, it is conceivable that Biomphalaria may be protected by decoy snails in circumstances where miracidia counts are high.     

皂荚提取物的杀螺活性

[目的]研究皂荚生物农药活性,开发利用皂荚资源,发展环境友好的绿色植物源农药。[方法]采用室内生测和田间试验研究皂荚壳乙醇提取物的杀螺活性。[结果]皂荚提取物对福寿螺有显著的毒杀活性,对幼螺和成螺72 h的LC₅₀分别为40.56、109.83 mg·L^-1。田间试验表明,皂荚提取物对福寿螺有较好的防效,施用40 g·m^-2的皂荚提取物处理7 d后卵块减少率为100.00%（成螺失去产卵的能力）,防效为（99.12±1.26）%。[结论]皂荚提取物对福寿螺较好的生物防治效果,是一种潜在的生物杀螺剂。     

Dominant lethal effects of 2,4-D in Biomphalaria glabrata

Dominant lethal effects of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were evaluated in the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata. Wild-type snails were exposed during 10 days to 50, 75 and 100 ppm of 2,4-D dimethylamine salt (2,4-D DMA) and paired with non-exposed albino snails 1, 11, 25 and 40 days after the exposure. The offspring of the non-exposed albino snails was scored for lethal malformations.One day after the exposure, a significant effect was observed at 75 and 100 ppm without a dose–response relationship. After 11 days, the effect was observed only at the highest dose. After 25 days, significant increases in the dominant lethal effects occurred at 50 and 75 ppm; effects were directly related to the doses. Background levels of lethal malformations were resumed after 40 days.Although the major and direct measure of dominant lethal mutations is the rate of lethal malformations in the heterozygous offspring of the albino snails, the sensitivity of the assay was substantially increased with the evaluation of all non-viable embryos, that are the sum of those with lethal malformations, identified or not as wild-type.     

Snail populations in arctic lakes: competition mediated by predation?

Summary For 2 species of snails in arctic Alaskan lakes, I studied the patterns of snail distribution with respect to habitat, distribution of predatory fish, and the potential for interspecific competition. The snails Lymnaea elodes and Valvata lewisi co-exist in these arctic lakes, either in the presence of lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, or in the absence of predation. Intensive sediment core sampling of Toolik Lake and Lake N-2, with trout and lacking trout, respectively, showed that the smaller snail, Valvata, was abundant in Toolik but ocurred at very low densities in Lake N-2. On the open sediments of lakes containing trout, diver surveys revealed very low densities of adult Lymnaea (0.12±0.12/m²), but similar surveys in lakes without trout revealed much higher densities of adult Lymnaea (7.1±1.8/m²). A survey of 14 lakes indicated that adult Lymnaea grew to a smaller mean size in lakes with trout than in lakes which lacked trout.In laboratory and field experiments, the presence of Lymnaea lowered the fecundity of Valvata. Laboratory experiments also showed that Lymnaea fecundity was enhanced by the presence of Valvata. Enhancement was not due to predation by Lymnaea on Valvata eggs or young. The observed patterns of distribution and abundance in the absence of trout, combined with results from laboratory experiments, are consistent with the hypothesis that competitive and facilitative interactions control the population dynamics of the two snails. The distribution and abundance patterns of snails where trout are present suggest that trout predation rather than competition controls snail population dynamics in lakes containing trout.     

The life history,diet and migration of a lake-dwelling population of the leech Alboglossiphonia heteroclita (L.)

Alboglossiphonia heteroclita has an annual life cycle in Tabley Mere, England. Egg-carrying leeches occurred from early June to mid-July. Young were released from parents in August, and the old cohort died soon after. The mean weight of recruited young increased in early autumn, declined over winter due to low feeding activity, and increased again from early spring until the leeches reproduced.The disappearance of leeches from the littoral zone in winter was due to their migration into deeper waters.Six species of snails collected from shallow and deep waters did not harbour leeches inside their shells or mantle cavities at any time of the year. Laboratory experiments confirmed that the leech does not use snails as a refuge.A serological technique identified the gut contents of field-collected A. heteroclita. Leeches had fed most extensively on oligochaetes followed by snails and then chironomids, lightly on Asellus and caddisflies, and scarcely on amphiphods and cladocerans. In laboratory experiments, in which four prey taxa were offered simultaneously to leeches, the descending order of utilization was oligochaetes, chironomids, Asellus and snails.     

Insecticide susceptibility and resistance of Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae collected from Gwangju,Republic of Korea

The susceptibility of Culex tritaeniorhynchus collected from Gwangju, Jeollabuk Province, Republic of Korea (ROK) to insecticides was evaluated under laboratory conditions using ten insecticides (7 pyrethroids and 3 organophosphates) that are currently applied by local public health centers in the ROK. Based on the values of median lethal concentration (LC₅₀), Cx. tritaeniorhynchus larvae were most susceptible to chlorpyrifos (0.006 ppm), fenitrothion (0.022 ppm), fenthion (0.035 ppm) and bifenthrin (0.038 ppm), and were least susceptible to esbiol (1.722 ppm). In comparative resistance tests, the resistance ratios (RRs) of seven insecticides were compared among each other using two strains of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus that were collected from the same locality during 1992 and 2010. Culex tritaeniorhynchus demonstrated significantly increased RRs to pyrethroids over time, while demonstrating decreased RRs among the organophosphates. Among the pyrethroids, permethrin had the highest RR values of 182.1‐ and 833.3‐fold differences, followed by etofenprox with RRs of 138.4‐ and 224.1‐fold differences in values of LC₅₀ and concentration that produced 90% mortality (LC₉₀), respectively. Culex tritaeniorhynchus strains demonstrated the least amount of change in susceptibility to the organophosphates, chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion and fenthion with 0.020‐, 0.019‐ and 0.001‐fold differences in resistance ratios (RRLC₅₀), respectively.     

Social facilitation affects longevity and lifetime reproductive success in a self-fertilizing land snail

Factors that reduce the reproductive output of self-fertilizing hermaphrodites are receiving increasing attention. The combined effects of reduced fecundity of selfing parents and inbreeding depression of the progeny have been referred to as self-fertilization depression. In isolated freshwater snails the reproductive output of selfing individuals also decreases due to the lack of social facilitation (absence of a conspecific). We examined the effect of social facilitation on lifetime reproductive success (number of young produced and longevity) over two generations in the simultaneously hermaphroditic land snail Balea perversa . In a parallel study we showed that B. perversa kept singly and in pairs reproduced exclusively by self-fertilization. In the parent generation, snails kept singly produced less offspring than snails kept in pairs. The difference in lifetime number of young was mainly due to differences in adult life span. Snails of the two groups did not differ in reproductive rate (number of young produced per 100 d of reproductive life) and hatchling size. In the offspring generation, snails kept singly did not differ from individuals kept in pairs in the lifetime number of young and hatchling survival. As in the parent generation, snails kept singly reproduced during a shorter period than snails kept in pairs. However, the shorter reproductive life span of snails kept singly was compensated for by a slightly (but not significantly) higher reproductive rate which resulted in a similar number of offspring produced for both groups. In both generations, snails of the two groups did not differ in size at first reproduction, adult growth rate and size at death. These findings suggest that social facilitation may affect longevity in selfing B. perversa .     

Influence des gousses d''arachide (Arachis Hypogea) et de l''alimentation imaginale sur l''ovogénèse, l''accouplement et la ponte chez la bruche Caryedon Serratus

Résumé L'activité reproductrice d'une souche de Caryedon serratus provenant de stocks d'arachide a été étudiée au Congo dans des conditions de température et d'hygrométrie simulant celles d'un grenier paysan ainsi qu'à la température constante de 30°C. L'ovogénèse est stimulée, quoique faiblement, par la présence de gousses de la plante hôte. La présence du mâle est sans effet sur l'ovogénèse. La présence de gousses d'arachide n'a pas d'influence sur la copulation; la femelle est généralement réceptive dès qu'un premier ovocyte est parvenu à maturité. La ponte est fortement stimulée par la présence d'une gousse d'arachide. La rétention ovocytaire est très faible chez les femelles inséminées, même en l'absence de gousse. On observe chez les femelles vierges une rétention des ovocytes dans les oviductes latéraux, qui s'accompagne apparemment d'une résorption partielle; environ un tiers des ufs est néanmoins émis. A 30°C, des femelles régulièrement nourries de pollen présentent une fécondité moyenne d'environ 650 ufs; le maximum observé est de 1457 ufs. La longévité moyenne de ces femelles est d'environ trois mois, mais certaines vivent près de six mois, en l'absence de toute diapause.

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Summary Reproductive activity in a strain of Caryedon serratus originating from groundnut stores was studied in Congo under humidity, temperature and daylength conditions similar to those prevailing in farmers' stores as well as at constant 30°C. Oogenesis was slightly stimulated in the presence of unshelled groundnuts. The presence of males did not affect oogenesis. Groundnuts had no effect on mating. Females usually became sexually receptive after a first oocyte had matured. Oviposition by virgin females was strongly stimulated by the presence of nuts. Oocyte retention was very low in inseminated females, even in the absence of groundnuts. Virgin females exhibited oocyte retention in lateral oviducts, apparently together with resorption. Egg chorions were occasionnally observed in the bursa copulatrix of old virgin females, but no proof is given of the existence of resorption mechanisms in that gland. About one third of the eggload was eventually laid. At 30°C, the fecundity of inseminated and regularly pollen-fed females was about 650 eggs. Maximum lifetime egg production was 1457. These females had a mean length of life of about three months, and some individuals survived almost six months, with no sign of diapause.