Avoidance behavior of juvenile common toads (Bufo bufo) in response to surface contamination by different pesticides.

ABSTRACT: Most agricultural soils are expected to be contaminated with agricultural chemicals. As the exposure to pesticides can have adverse effects on non-target organisms, avoiding contaminated areas would be advantageous on an individual level, but could lead to a chemical landscape fragmentation with disadvantages on the metapopulation level. We investigated the avoidance behavior of juvenile common toads (Bufo bufo) in response to seven pesticide formulations commonly used in German vineyards. We used test arenas filled with silica sand and oversprayed half of each with different pesticide formulations. We placed a toad in the middle of an arena, filmed its behavior over 24 hours, calculated the proportion of time a toad spent on the contaminated side and compared it to a random side choice. W

SUBMITTER: Leeb C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7704001 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature