Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain

Autores
Garcia, Andrés; Diekötter, Tim; Sabu, Jitin; Greene, Lauren O.; Kuhtz, Lilli; Donath, Tobias W.; Eichberg, Carsten
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
The increasing use of veterinary anthelmintics, which mainly enter the environment via livestock feces, raises concerns about side effects on non-target organisms in agricultural landscapes. While most studies have focused on species at a single trophic level that are directly exposed to these drugs, little is known about their indirect effects on interacting species across trophic levels and the associated ecological functions. To address this research gap, we conducted the first experimental study on a terrestrial species assemblage exposed to soil spiked with a formulation of the commonly used veterinary anthelmintic moxidectin (MOXf). Using two mesocosm experiments, we tested a food chain composed of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, host), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae, herbivore), and marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus, predator as a larva and pollinator as an adult). MOXf significantly reduced the number and weight of strawberry fruits by 24% and 32%, respectively. Aphid abundance increased by an order of magnitude on plants treated with MOXf, but only when no hoverfly larvae were present. In the presence of the predator, aphid abundance was reduced regardless of the treatment applied to the plant. Adult hoverflies exposed to MOXf-treated plants laid about four times as many eggs as the control group. We suspect that the anthelmintic drug weakens the plants' defense mechanisms against herbivores such as aphids, thereby fostering their reproduction. These results indicate that the role of veterinary drugs in shaping plant-insect interactions should be addressed more explicitly in ecotoxicological studies and environmental risk assessments.
EEA Cesáreo Naredo
Fil: García, Andrés. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: García, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo; Argentina
Fil: Diekötter, Tim. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Sabu, Jitin. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Greene, Lauren O. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Greene, Lauren O. University of Coimbra. Department of Life Sciences. Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA; Portugal
Fil: Kuhtz, Lilli. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Kuhtz, Lilli. University of East Anglia. School of Environmental Sciences; Reino Unido
Fil: Donath, Tobias W. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Eichberg, Carsten. Trier University. Geobotany, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
Fuente
Science of The Total Environment 1031 : 181822. (May 2026)
Materia
Medicamentos Veterinarios
Antihelmínticos
Polinización
Contaminantes
Cadena Alimentaria
Veterinary Drugs
Anthelmintics
Pollination
Contaminants
Food Chains
Moxidectina
Moxidectin
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
oai:localhost:20.500.12123/26014
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/26014
network_acronym_str INTADig
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network_name_str INTA Digital (INTA)
spelling Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chainGarcia, AndrésDiekötter, TimSabu, JitinGreene, Lauren O.Kuhtz, LilliDonath, Tobias W.Eichberg, CarstenMedicamentos VeterinariosAntihelmínticosPolinizaciónContaminantesCadena AlimentariaVeterinary DrugsAnthelminticsPollinationContaminantsFood ChainsMoxidectinaMoxidectinThe increasing use of veterinary anthelmintics, which mainly enter the environment via livestock feces, raises concerns about side effects on non-target organisms in agricultural landscapes. While most studies have focused on species at a single trophic level that are directly exposed to these drugs, little is known about their indirect effects on interacting species across trophic levels and the associated ecological functions. To address this research gap, we conducted the first experimental study on a terrestrial species assemblage exposed to soil spiked with a formulation of the commonly used veterinary anthelmintic moxidectin (MOXf). Using two mesocosm experiments, we tested a food chain composed of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, host), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae, herbivore), and marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus, predator as a larva and pollinator as an adult). MOXf significantly reduced the number and weight of strawberry fruits by 24% and 32%, respectively. Aphid abundance increased by an order of magnitude on plants treated with MOXf, but only when no hoverfly larvae were present. In the presence of the predator, aphid abundance was reduced regardless of the treatment applied to the plant. Adult hoverflies exposed to MOXf-treated plants laid about four times as many eggs as the control group. We suspect that the anthelmintic drug weakens the plants' defense mechanisms against herbivores such as aphids, thereby fostering their reproduction. These results indicate that the role of veterinary drugs in shaping plant-insect interactions should be addressed more explicitly in ecotoxicological studies and environmental risk assessments.EEA Cesáreo NaredoFil: García, Andrés. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; AlemaniaFil: García, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo; ArgentinaFil: Diekötter, Tim. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; AlemaniaFil: Sabu, Jitin. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; AlemaniaFil: Greene, Lauren O. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; AlemaniaFil: Greene, Lauren O. University of Coimbra. Department of Life Sciences. Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA; PortugalFil: Kuhtz, Lilli. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; AlemaniaFil: Kuhtz, Lilli. University of East Anglia. School of Environmental Sciences; Reino UnidoFil: Donath, Tobias W. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; AlemaniaFil: Eichberg, Carsten. Trier University. Geobotany, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; AlemaniaElsevier2026-04-30T11:26:31Z2026-04-30T11:26:31Z2026-05info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/26014https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S00489697260048690048-96971879-1026https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181822Science of The Total Environment 1031 : 181822. (May 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-05-07T11:53:20Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/26014instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-05-07 11:53:21.202INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
title Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
spellingShingle Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
Garcia, Andrés
Medicamentos Veterinarios
Antihelmínticos
Polinización
Contaminantes
Cadena Alimentaria
Veterinary Drugs
Anthelmintics
Pollination
Contaminants
Food Chains
Moxidectina
Moxidectin
title_short Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
title_full Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
title_fullStr Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
title_full_unstemmed Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
title_sort Effects of a formulation of the veterinary drug moxidectin on the performance of a plant-insect food chain
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Garcia, Andrés
Diekötter, Tim
Sabu, Jitin
Greene, Lauren O.
Kuhtz, Lilli
Donath, Tobias W.
Eichberg, Carsten
author Garcia, Andrés
author_facet Garcia, Andrés
Diekötter, Tim
Sabu, Jitin
Greene, Lauren O.
Kuhtz, Lilli
Donath, Tobias W.
Eichberg, Carsten
author_role author
author2 Diekötter, Tim
Sabu, Jitin
Greene, Lauren O.
Kuhtz, Lilli
Donath, Tobias W.
Eichberg, Carsten
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Medicamentos Veterinarios
Antihelmínticos
Polinización
Contaminantes
Cadena Alimentaria
Veterinary Drugs
Anthelmintics
Pollination
Contaminants
Food Chains
Moxidectina
Moxidectin
topic Medicamentos Veterinarios
Antihelmínticos
Polinización
Contaminantes
Cadena Alimentaria
Veterinary Drugs
Anthelmintics
Pollination
Contaminants
Food Chains
Moxidectina
Moxidectin
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv The increasing use of veterinary anthelmintics, which mainly enter the environment via livestock feces, raises concerns about side effects on non-target organisms in agricultural landscapes. While most studies have focused on species at a single trophic level that are directly exposed to these drugs, little is known about their indirect effects on interacting species across trophic levels and the associated ecological functions. To address this research gap, we conducted the first experimental study on a terrestrial species assemblage exposed to soil spiked with a formulation of the commonly used veterinary anthelmintic moxidectin (MOXf). Using two mesocosm experiments, we tested a food chain composed of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, host), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae, herbivore), and marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus, predator as a larva and pollinator as an adult). MOXf significantly reduced the number and weight of strawberry fruits by 24% and 32%, respectively. Aphid abundance increased by an order of magnitude on plants treated with MOXf, but only when no hoverfly larvae were present. In the presence of the predator, aphid abundance was reduced regardless of the treatment applied to the plant. Adult hoverflies exposed to MOXf-treated plants laid about four times as many eggs as the control group. We suspect that the anthelmintic drug weakens the plants' defense mechanisms against herbivores such as aphids, thereby fostering their reproduction. These results indicate that the role of veterinary drugs in shaping plant-insect interactions should be addressed more explicitly in ecotoxicological studies and environmental risk assessments.
EEA Cesáreo Naredo
Fil: García, Andrés. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: García, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo; Argentina
Fil: Diekötter, Tim. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Sabu, Jitin. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Greene, Lauren O. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Greene, Lauren O. University of Coimbra. Department of Life Sciences. Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA; Portugal
Fil: Kuhtz, Lilli. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Kuhtz, Lilli. University of East Anglia. School of Environmental Sciences; Reino Unido
Fil: Donath, Tobias W. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania
Fil: Eichberg, Carsten. Trier University. Geobotany, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania
description The increasing use of veterinary anthelmintics, which mainly enter the environment via livestock feces, raises concerns about side effects on non-target organisms in agricultural landscapes. While most studies have focused on species at a single trophic level that are directly exposed to these drugs, little is known about their indirect effects on interacting species across trophic levels and the associated ecological functions. To address this research gap, we conducted the first experimental study on a terrestrial species assemblage exposed to soil spiked with a formulation of the commonly used veterinary anthelmintic moxidectin (MOXf). Using two mesocosm experiments, we tested a food chain composed of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, host), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae, herbivore), and marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus, predator as a larva and pollinator as an adult). MOXf significantly reduced the number and weight of strawberry fruits by 24% and 32%, respectively. Aphid abundance increased by an order of magnitude on plants treated with MOXf, but only when no hoverfly larvae were present. In the presence of the predator, aphid abundance was reduced regardless of the treatment applied to the plant. Adult hoverflies exposed to MOXf-treated plants laid about four times as many eggs as the control group. We suspect that the anthelmintic drug weakens the plants' defense mechanisms against herbivores such as aphids, thereby fostering their reproduction. These results indicate that the role of veterinary drugs in shaping plant-insect interactions should be addressed more explicitly in ecotoxicological studies and environmental risk assessments.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-04-30T11:26:31Z
2026-04-30T11:26:31Z
2026-05
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/26014
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969726004869
0048-9697
1879-1026
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181822
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/26014
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969726004869
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181822
identifier_str_mv 0048-9697
1879-1026
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Science of The Total Environment 1031 : 181822. (May 2026)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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score 13.1485815

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