Cited by 89Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental StudiesEnvironmental Toxicology and EcotoxicologyPesticide Exposure and Toxicity

Aquatic ecotoxicity of glyphosate, its formulations, and co-formulants: evidence from 2010 to 2023

Open access
Klátyik, Szandra, Simon, Gergely, Oláh, Marianna, Takács, Eszter, Mesnage, Robin, Antoniou, Michael N., Zaller, Johann G., Székács, András·2024·Environmental Sciences Europe

Abstract

Glyphosate (GLY), the most widely used herbicide active ingredient (AI) in the world, is frequently detected in aquatic environments where it can affect non-target organisms. Globally, more than 2000 commercial GLY-based herbicides (GBHs) are used to control weeds. Non-target organisms are exposed to complex pesticide formulations under real environmental conditions, but the co-formulants contained in GBHs are classified as so-called inert and inactive ingredients in terms of their biological effects. The main objective of this comprehensive review is to compile the results of aquatic ecotoxicological studies on the side-effects of GLY, GBHs, and their formulating agents. Based on the results demonstrated for a variety of plant and animal aquatic organisms, oxidative stress appears to be a major trigger for these adverse effects, affecting the integrity of DNA and other biochemical functions. Furthermore, there is evidence of impairment of various physiological and behavioral functions. Adverse effects of GLY and GBHs have been observed even at very low concentrations. There are also differences in the sensitivity of the aquatic organisms tested, even with similar lifestyles, habitats or identical taxa. The studies typically investigate the short-term effects of a single exposure to GLY/GBH on a single species, whilst in reality multiple applications of GBHs together with other pesticides are common during a cropping cycle. Moreover, the interactions between GLY/GBHs and other aquatic contaminants are rarely studied. Higher toxicity of GBHs compared to GLY alone has often been observed, demonstrating that co-formulants can be highly toxic on their own and markedly increase the toxicity of the GBH formulation. The possible impurities in GBHs, such as heavy metals, can cause additional problems for the environment and food safety. The widespread and massive use of GBHs leads to increased exposure and environmental hazards. In addition, the need for a revision of the risk assessment system is emphasized. According to the results of aquatic ecotoxicological studies, the current use and pollution of the aquatic environment by GLY/GBHs is highly problematic and cannot be considered environmentally sustainable. It is, therefore, necessary to at least tighten the permitted forms of use.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1186/s12302-024-00849-1

Cites

305 of 305 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The absence of long-term biodiversity records for taxonomic groups heavily impacted by pesticides, such as insects and microbes, hinders a full understanding of GM crop management's effects on biodiversity.

    “The absence of long-term biodiversity records for taxonomic groups heavily impacted by pesticides, such as insects and microbes, hinders a full understanding of GMcrop management's effects on biodiversity ( 121 -124 )”

    From Environmental impacts of genetically modified crops (2024) · cites this paper as [123]

    The Conclusions (page unavailable) say that the consequences of decades of glyphosate-based herbicide use have not been assessed and recommend long-term monitoring and evaluation of aquatic microbiota. The Introduction also describes insecticidal effects on non-target arthropods. The paper does not establish that missing long-term biodiversity records for insects and microbes specifically hinder understanding of GM crop management’s effects on biodiversity. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Huhn C (2018) More and enhanced glyphosate analysis is needed. Anal Bioanal Chem 410:3041-3045. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s00216-018- 1000-3. 49 · DOI
  2. Characklis WG, Marshall KC (1990) Physiological ecology in biofilm sys- tems. In: Characklis WG, Marshall KC (eds) Biofilms. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 341-394
  3. Diagonel G, Carriel O, de Campos OR, Boas K, Branco C (2022) Effect of glyphosate-based herbicides on the photosynthetic responses of the macrophyte Egeria densa Planch. from topical lotic ecosystems. Limnetica 41:73-84. https:// doi. org/ 10. 23818/ limn. 23841. 23806 155. Hyman LH (1940) The invertebrates. IV. Echinodermata. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 22-43 156. · DOI
  4. Lopes AR, Moraes JS, Martins CMG (2022) Effects of the herbicide glyphosate on fish from embryos to adults: a review addressing behav- ior patterns and mechanisms behind them. Aquat Toxicol 251:106281. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. aquat ox. 2022 330. · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Klátyik, S., Simon, G., Oláh, M., Takács, E., Mesnage, R., Antoniou, M. N., Zaller, J. G., & Székács, A.
Affiliations
  • Magyar Agrár- és Élettudományi Egyetem (HU)
  • Guy's Hospital (GB)
  • BOKU University (AT)
Corresponding author
Zaller, Johann G.
Venue
Environmental Sciences Europe
Published
2024-02-06
Volume
36
Issue
1
ISSN
2190-4715 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4391561638
Cited by
80
References
305
Citations by year
2026: 40 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 16
FWCI
7.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Environmental Sciences Europe (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Erasmus+ project Hort4EUGreen (2020-1-RO01-KA203-080398)
  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pesticide and Herbicide Environmental Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity
Keywords
glyphosate, herbicide formulation, co-formulants, aquatic toxicity, oxidative stress, DNA damage, non-target organisms, herbicide mixtures, heavy metal impurities, pesticide risk assessment, water pollution

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review