Environmentally relevant fungicide levels modify fungal community composition and interactions but not functioning. (15th September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baudy, Patrick; Zubrod, Jochen P.; Konschak, Marco; Röder, Nina; Nguyen, Thu Huyen; Schreiner, Verena C.; Baschien, Christiane; Schulz, Ralf; Bundschuh, Mirco
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 285(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-09-15
• Subjects: Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning -- Diversity effects -- Leaf litter decomposition -- DMI fungicides -- Strobilurins; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117234
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Aquatic hyphomycetes (AHs), a group of saprotrophic fungi adapted to submerged leaf litter, play key functional roles in stream ecosystems as decomposers and food source for higher trophic levels. Fungicides, controlling fungal pathogens, target evolutionary conserved molecular processes in fungi and contaminate streams via their use in agricultural and urban landscapes. Thus fungicides pose a risk to AHs and the functions they provide. To investigate the impacts of fungicide exposure on the composition and functioning of AH communities, we exposed four AH species in monocultures and mixed cultures to increasing fungicide concentrations (0, 5, 50, 500, and 2500 μg/L). We assessed the biomass of each species via quantitative real-time PCR. Moreover, leaf decomposition was investigated. In monocultures, none of the species was affected at environmentally relevant fungicide levels (5 and 50 μg/L). The two most tolerant species were able to colonize and decompose leaves even at very high fungicide levels (≥500 μg/L), although less efficiently. In mixed cultures, changes in leaf decomposition reflected the response pattern of the species most tolerant in monocultures. Accordingly, the decomposition process may be safeguarded by tolerant species in combination with functional redundancy. In all fungicide treatments, however, sensitive species were displaced and interactions between fungi changed from complementarity to competition. As AH community composition determines leaves' nutritional quality for consumers, the data suggest that fungicide exposures rather induce bottom-up effects in food webs than impairments in leaf decomposition. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Certain aquatic fungi are highly tolerant towards multiple fungicides. Fungicide-tolerant fungal species safeguard leaf decomposition. Environmentally relevant fungicide levels affect fungal community composition. Fungicide contamination may induce bottom-up directed effect cascades in food webs. Abstract : Environmentally relevant fungicide concentrations affect fungal community composition, raising concerns about implications for higher trophic levels.