The Anthelmintic Ingredient Moxidectin Negatively Affects Seed Germination of Three Temperate Grassland Species

• Published in: PloS one 2016-11, Vol.11 (11), p.e0166366-e0166366
• Main Authors: Eichberg, Carsten, Wohde, Manuel, Müller, Kerstin, Rausch, Anja, Scherrmann, Christina, Scheuren, Theresa, Düring, Rolf-Alexander, Donath, Tobias W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Anthelmintic agents; Anthelmintics - adverse effects; Antiparasitic agents; Beetles; Biology and Life Sciences; Bovidae; Cattle; Centaurea - drug effects; Centaurea - growth & development; Centaurea jacea; Conservation; Dung; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Environmental science; Experiments; Galium - drug effects; Galium - growth & development; Galium verum; Germination; Germination - drug effects; Grassland; Grasslands; Intestinal parasites; Livestock; Macrolides - adverse effects; Nature conservation; Nematoda; Nematode Infections - drug therapy; Nematode Infections - parasitology; Nematode Infections - veterinary; Nematodes; Ovis aries; Pharmaceuticals; Physical Sciences; Plant populations; Plant species; Plantago - drug effects; Plantago - growth & development; Plantago lanceolata; Regeneration; Seed germination; Seeds; Seeds - drug effects; Seeds - growth & development; Sheep; Sheep - parasitology; Sheep Diseases - drug therapy; Soil conservation; Soil sciences; Species; Ungulates
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166366

In animal farming, anthelmintics are regularly applied to control gastrointestinal nematodes. There is plenty of evidence that also non-target organisms, such as dung beetles, are negatively affected by residues of anthelmintics in faeces of domestic ungulates. By contrast, knowledge about possible effects on wild plants is scarce. To bridge this gap of knowledge, we tested for effects of the common anthelmintic formulation Cydectin and its active ingredient moxidectin on seed germination. We conducted a feeding experiment with sheep and germination experiments in a climate chamber. Three wide-spread plant species of temperate grasslands (Centaurea jacea, Galium verum, Plantago lanceolata) were studied. We found significant influences of both, Cydectin and moxidectin, on germination of the tested species. Across species, both formulation and active ingredient solely led to a decrease in germination percentage and synchrony of germination and an increase in mean germination time with the formulation showing a more pronounced response pattern. Our study shows for the first time that anthelmintics have the potential to negatively affect plant regeneration. This has practical implications for nature conservation since our results suggest that treatments of livestock with anthelmintics should be carefully timed to not impede endozoochorous seed exchange between plant populations.