Published In
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-26-2025
Subjects
Sea stars -- habitat -- environmental indicators
Abstract
Sea star wasting syndrome has affected numerous species of sea star, with populations of Pycnopodia helianthoides (Brandt, 1835) left most at risk. As their populations are struggling to recover, it is important to gain a better understanding of the impacts that the multiple stressors in their habitats can have on their populations. Contaminant stressors in particular are of increasing importance, because aquatic organisms can be exposed to a dynamic range of contaminants from nearby anthropogenic activity that may affect their future recovery efforts. This study is the first to quantify the effects of contaminant stressors on the larvae of P. helianthoides. We exposed P. helianthoides larvae to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid and polyester microfibers, both individually and in combination, at environmentally relevant concentrations (10 ng/L and 25 fibers/L, respectively) to measure the effects of these contaminants on their early life stages. Imidacloprid exposure resulted in stomach malformation in 10% of larvae and increased mortality during early development (p < 0.001), and all treatments resulted in increased larval lengths relative to controls (p < 0.001). During settlement, imidacloprid resulted in more rapid settlement responses than in the controls (p < 0.01). These findings highlight the need for further research investigating the effects of contaminant stressors to endangered organisms during reintroduction as well as a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of pesticides to nontarget organisms.
Rights
This is the final published PDF. This is a government document and no copyright attaches.
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DOI
10.1093/etojnl/vgaf039
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43250
Citation Details
Tissot, A. G., Granek, E. F., Curliss, F., Kalytiak-Davis, A., Hodin, J., & Hladik, M. L. (2025). The effects of imidacloprid and polyester microfibers on the larval development of the endangered sunflower star. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 44(4), 1107–1119.
Description
This work was authored as part of the Contributor's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.