Chronic effects of atrazine on tolerance of a benthic diatom

The effects of prior chronic exposure to atrazine on responses to subsequent acute exposures were investigated using a common benthic diatom. Clonal, axenic cultures of Craticula cuspidata were established from the Platte River (Nebraska) and obtained from a culture collection (unlikely prior exposure to atrazine). All cultures received a chronic 67-d treatment of 1 microgram/L atrazine, and growth was monitored using fluorometric detection of chlorophyll a. Chronic atrazine exposure significantly reduced growth rate only during the first day of treatment (p = 0.0001); no significant effect was detected throughout the remainder of the 67-d period. Following the chronic treatment, clones were exposed to six atrazine concentrations (83, 188, 402, 860, 1,782, and 3,250 micrograms/L) to ascertain whether prior exposure influenced the tolerance of this diatom. Prior chronic exposure had a negative effect on growth following subsequent exposures to higher concentrations. A significant decline in growth was detected on days 7, 9, and 12 between previously exposed and control clones at 83 micrograms/L of atrazine. The lack of increased tolerance in C. cuspidata after a realistic chronic exposure indicates that the levels of atrazine presently found in many lotic systems may inhibit the growth of periphyton during periods of higher pulses of atrazine characteristic of spring runoff events.