Peer Review #1 of "Toxicity thresholds of three insecticides and two fungicides to larvae of the coral Acropora tenuis (v0.1)"

Abstract

Tropical marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, face several threats to their health and resilience, including poor water quality. Previous studies on the risks posed by pesticides have focused on five priority herbicides; however, as the number of pesticides applied in coastal agriculture increases, a suite of 'alternative' pesticides is being detected in tropical nearshore waters. To improve our understanding of the risks posed by alternative pesticides to tropical marine organisms, the effects of three insecticides (diazinon, fipronil, imidacloprid) and two fungicides (chlorothalonil, propiconazole) were tested on larval metamorphosis of the coral Acropora tenuis. A. tenuis larvae were affected by all five pesticides and the reference toxicant copper. The no effect concentration (NEC) and the 10% and 50% effect concentrations (EC 10 and EC 50 , respectively) for larval metamorphosis were estimated from concentration-response curves after 48 h exposure. The NEC, EC 10 and EC 50 (in µg L-1