5 Conclusion
Pyrethroids are present in aquatic environments globally, from river, estuarine, and
marine sediments to irrigation channels, lakes, rural, and suburban waterways. They
have been identified in sediments in the United States, Great Britain, Spain, Vietnam, Norway, Thailand, Australia, Pakistan, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Nigeria (see Tang et al. [2] and references therein), often at levels that exceed regulatory
thresholds [140]. These compounds are widely implicated in causing acute
and sublethal effects in aquatic organisms at low, environmentally relevant
concentrations in water and sediment. Both target and nontarget applications of
pyrethroids drive adaptive pyrethroid resistance in a number of invertebrate taxa. We
present evidence that pyrethroids drive the evolution of resistance in nontarget
aquatic organisms on three continents [57, 58, 60–63]. Both urban and agricultural
pyrethroid use are responsible for the selection of genetic adaptive resistance in
vector (mosquitoes, black flies) and nonvector (H. azteca) populations. Resistance in
disease vectors threatens public health, while resistance in other nontarget invertebrates serves as an indicator of pyrethroid impairment in aquatic environments.
Further exploration of the evolutionary implications of pyrethroid resistance in
aquatic organisms is highly warranted. Taking full advantage of model systems
such as H. azteca and as well as incorporating the repeated evolution of genetic
resistance into risk assessment decisions will greatly expand our understanding of
the evolutionary processes that occur due to the presence of pyrethroids and other
chemical stressors in the environment.
Acknowledgments We would like to thank Dr. Helen Poynton for her edits and thoughtful
comments on the content of this chapter. We acknowledge funding from EPA STAR grant
#835799 and California Department of Fish and Wildlife grant #P1796002 which supported the
development of ideas as well as writing effort.
References
1. Brander SM, Jeffries KM, Cole BJ, DeCourten BM, White JW, Hasenbein S, Fangue NA,
Connon RE (2016) Transcriptomic changes underlie altered egg protein production and
reduced fecundity in an estuarine model fish exposed to bifenthrin. Aquat Toxicol
174:247–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2016.02.014
2. Tang W, Wang D, Wang J, Wu Z, Li L, Huang M, Xu S, Yan D (2018) Pyrethroid pesticide
residues in the global environment: an overview. Chemosphere 191:990–1007. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.10.115
3. Sanders HJ, Taff AW (1954) Staff-industry collaborative report: Allethrin. Ind Eng Chem 46
(3):414–426. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie50531a018
4. Elliot M, Farnham AW, Janes NF, Needham PH, Pulman DA, Stevenson JH (1973)
A photostable pyrethroid. Nature 246:169–170. https://doi.org/10.1038/246169a0
5. Barr DB, Olsson AO, Wong L-Y, Udunka S, Baker SE, Whitehead RD Jr, Magsumbol MS,
Williams BL, Needham LL (2010) Urinary concentrations of metabolites of pyrethroid
The Ecological and Evolutionary Implications of Pyrethroid Exposure: A New. . .
137
Pyrethroids are present in aquatic environments globally, from river, estuarine, and
marine sediments to irrigation channels, lakes, rural, and suburban waterways. They
have been identified in sediments in the United States, Great Britain, Spain, Vietnam, Norway, Thailand, Australia, Pakistan, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Nigeria (see Tang et al. [2] and references therein), often at levels that exceed regulatory
thresholds [140]. These compounds are widely implicated in causing acute
and sublethal effects in aquatic organisms at low, environmentally relevant
concentrations in water and sediment. Both target and nontarget applications of
pyrethroids drive adaptive pyrethroid resistance in a number of invertebrate taxa. We
present evidence that pyrethroids drive the evolution of resistance in nontarget
aquatic organisms on three continents [57, 58, 60–63]. Both urban and agricultural
pyrethroid use are responsible for the selection of genetic adaptive resistance in
vector (mosquitoes, black flies) and nonvector (H. azteca) populations. Resistance in
disease vectors threatens public health, while resistance in other nontarget invertebrates serves as an indicator of pyrethroid impairment in aquatic environments.
Further exploration of the evolutionary implications of pyrethroid resistance in
aquatic organisms is highly warranted. Taking full advantage of model systems
such as H. azteca and as well as incorporating the repeated evolution of genetic
resistance into risk assessment decisions will greatly expand our understanding of
the evolutionary processes that occur due to the presence of pyrethroids and other
chemical stressors in the environment.
Acknowledgments We would like to thank Dr. Helen Poynton for her edits and thoughtful
comments on the content of this chapter. We acknowledge funding from EPA STAR grant
#835799 and California Department of Fish and Wildlife grant #P1796002 which supported the
development of ideas as well as writing effort.
References
1. Brander SM, Jeffries KM, Cole BJ, DeCourten BM, White JW, Hasenbein S, Fangue NA,
Connon RE (2016) Transcriptomic changes underlie altered egg protein production and
reduced fecundity in an estuarine model fish exposed to bifenthrin. Aquat Toxicol
174:247–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2016.02.014
2. Tang W, Wang D, Wang J, Wu Z, Li L, Huang M, Xu S, Yan D (2018) Pyrethroid pesticide
residues in the global environment: an overview. Chemosphere 191:990–1007. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.10.115
3. Sanders HJ, Taff AW (1954) Staff-industry collaborative report: Allethrin. Ind Eng Chem 46
(3):414–426. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie50531a018
4. Elliot M, Farnham AW, Janes NF, Needham PH, Pulman DA, Stevenson JH (1973)
A photostable pyrethroid. Nature 246:169–170. https://doi.org/10.1038/246169a0
5. Barr DB, Olsson AO, Wong L-Y, Udunka S, Baker SE, Whitehead RD Jr, Magsumbol MS,
Williams BL, Needham LL (2010) Urinary concentrations of metabolites of pyrethroid
The Ecological and Evolutionary Implications of Pyrethroid Exposure: A New. . .
137