The Influence of Atrazine on the Growth, Development and Oxygen Consumption of Pelophylax nigromaculatus Tadpoles

Abstract

Amphibians grow and reproduce in water, and are sensitive to water pollution. Atrazine is one of the widely distributed herbicides that can damage the amphibians. To study the influence of atrazine on the growth, development and oxygen consumption of Pelophylax nigromaculata larvae, 26 stages of tadpoles were raised in water containing different concentrations of atrazine (0, 8, 16, 32 and 64 ?g/L). After treatments at different times (10, 15, 20, 25 d), the snout vent length (SVL), total length, body width and the bodyweight of tadpoles were measured, and oxygen consumption of tadpoles was checked with an aquatic biorespirometer. The results showed that with the increase of treatment time, the SVL, whole length, body width and the bodyweight of P. nigromaculatus tadpoles of each concentration group increased. At the same treatment time, the SVL, whole length, body width and the bodyweight of P. nigromaculatus tadpoles gradually decreased with the increase of concentration. Compared with the control group, the oxygen consumption in the treatment groups increased in the short-term treatment (10 d), had no difference in the medium-term treatment (15 d) and decreased in the long-term treatment (20 and 25 d).

Keywords

• atrazine, pelophylax nigromaculatus, oxygen consumption, tadpoles