Honors Thesis Archive
| Author | Ashley E. Cave |
|---|---|
| Title | Grey treefrog tadpole development and behavior altered by dicamba herbicide exposure |
| Department | Biology & Mathematics |
| Advisor | Amber Burgett |
| Year | 2021 |
| Honors | University Honors |
| Full Text | View Thesis (470 KB) |
| Abstract | Glyphosate has been shown to impact not only amphibian survival, but also their development, phenotypic response to predators, and overall behavior. Dicamba, another herbicide, was permitted for use by the EPA in 2016. However, less is known about its potential environmental impact. Being an extremely volatile chemical, dicamba poses a risk to aquatic organisms in areas that may experience runoff or overspray. It can also harm yields of neighboring crops, leading the EPA to ban dicamba use part way through this experiment in June 2020. We investigated the effects of an environmentally relevant dosage of two forms of dicamba on grey treefrog tadpole development and behavior. We also investigated how dicamba impacted the response of tadpoles to predator cues. Herbicide treatment significantly decreased growth compared to the control. The presence of predator cues also significantly decreased growth, and there was no interaction between herbicide treatment and predator treatment. Tadpoles exposed to predator cues generally had wider tails, and the introduction of dicamba caused similar morphological changes. The presence of commercial dicamba also significantly reduced startle responses, potentially increasing the risk for predation. Dicamba has the potential for sublethal impacts on the development and behavior of tadpoles, and therefore should be further studied. |
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