Influence of temperature and soil moisture on the toxic potential of clothianidin to collembolan Folsomia candida in a tropical field soil.

Climate change can alter the toxic effects of pesticides on soil invertebrates. However, the nature and magnitude of the influence of climatic factors on clothianidin impacts in tropical soils are still unknown. The influence of increasing atmospheric temperature and the reduction in soil moisture on the toxicity and risk of clothianidin (seed dressing formulation Inside FS^®) were assessed through chronic toxicity tests with collembolans Folsomia candida in a tropical field soil (Entisol). The risk of clothianidin for collembolans was estimated using the Toxicity-Exposure Ratio (TER) approach. Organisms were exposed to increasing clothianidin concentrations at 20, 25 and 27 °C in combination with two soil moisture conditions (30 and 60% of the maximum water holding capacity-WHC). The effect of temperature and soil moisture content on clothianidin toxicity was verified through the number of F. candida juveniles generated after 28 days of exposure to the spiked soil. The toxicities estimated at 25 °C (EC₅₀__30%WHC = 0.014 mg kg^-1; EC_{50_60%WHC} = 0.010 mg kg^-1) and 27 °C (EC_{50_30%WHC} = 0.006 mg kg^-1; EC_{50_60%WHC} = 0.007 mg kg^-1) were 2.9-3.0-fold (25 °C) and 4.3-6.7-fold (27 °C) higher than those found at 20 °C (EC_{50_30%WHC} = 0.040 mg kg^-1; EC_{50_60%WHC} = 0.030 mg kg^-1), indicating that clothianidin toxicity increases with temperature. No clear influence of soil moisture content on clothianidin toxicity could be observed once the EC₅₀ values estimated at 30% and 60% WHC, within the same temperature, did not significantly differ. A significant risk was detected in all temperatures and soil moisture scenarios studied, and the TER values indicate that the risk can increase with increasing temperatures. Our results revealed that temperature could overlap with soil moisture in regulating clothianidin toxicity and reinforce the importance of including climatic factors in the prospective risk assessment of pesticides.