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Chronic toxicity of ivermectin to the benthic invertebrates Chironomus riparius and Lumbriculus variegatus

  • SEDIMENTS, SEC 1 • SEDIMENT QUALITY AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT • RESEARCH ARTICLE
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Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies have shown that ivermectin, a widely used parasiticide, is very toxic to many non-target invertebrate species. In view of the strong binding of ivermectin to sediments and the scarcity of data on chronic toxicity to freshwater sediment invertebrates, chronic effects of the parasiticide on the midge Chironomus riparius and the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus were investigated.

Materials and methods

C. riparius and L. variegatus were exposed for up to 28 days to ivermectin-spiked artificial sediment. Nominal ivermectin concentrations were 3.1 to 50 µg/kg dry sediment in the Chironomus test and 50 to 5,000 µg/kg dry sediment in the Lumbriculus test. The evaluated endpoints were survival, growth, emergence ratio and development rate for C. riparius, and survival/reproduction and total biomass for L. variegatus.

Results and discussion

Ivermectin had a significant, concentration-dependent effect on larval survival and growth, emergence and development rate of C. riparius. With a lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) of 6.3 µg/kg dry sediment, larval dry weight was the most sensitive endpoint. L. variegatus was considerably less sensitive to ivermectin than C. riparius. A LOEC of 500 µg/kg dry sediment was derived for effects on survival/reproduction and total biomass.

Conclusions

The results of the present study, especially the high toxicity of ivermectin to C. riparius, indicate that the potential impact of ivermectin on freshwater benthic invertebrates deserves further attention.

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Acknowledgements

The present study was part of the project ‘Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals’ (ERAPharm) that was funded within the 6th framework programme of the European Commission (project number SSPI-CT-2003-511135). The authors wish to thank Marika Goth and José Pedro Ferreira (ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH) for technical assistance during test performance. This article is dedicated to Hans-Joachim Schallnaß (ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH).

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  1. ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Böttgerstrasse 2–14, 65439, Flörsheim/Main, Germany

    Philipp Egeler, Daniel Gilberg & Karen Duis

  2. Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Am Mainzer Tor 1, 56068, Koblenz, Germany

    Guido Fink

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  1. Philipp Egeler
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Correspondence to Philipp Egeler.

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Responsible editor: Wolfgang Ahlf

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Egeler, P., Gilberg, D., Fink, G. et al. Chronic toxicity of ivermectin to the benthic invertebrates Chironomus riparius and Lumbriculus variegatus . J Soils Sediments 10, 368–376 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-010-0197-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-010-0197-3

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