Sublethal exposure, insecticide resistance, and community stress

• Published in: Current opinion in insect science Vol. 21; no. C; pp. 47 - 53
• Main Authors: Guedes, Raul Narciso C, Walse, Spencer S, Throne, James E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.06.2017; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; anthropogenic stressors; Ecosystem; Hormesis; Inactivation, Metabolic; Insecta - drug effects; Insecta - genetics; Insecticide Resistance; insecticides; Insecticides - toxicity; insects; market value; Pesticide Residues
• ISSN: 2214-5745; 2214-5745; 2214-5753
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.04.010

•Sublethal stress remains neglected within entomology in favor of short-term mortality.•Sublethal stress in insecticide-resistant populations and insect communities is also neglected.•Such neglect is unjustified, as sublethal exposure is prevalent in nature with eco-evolutionary consequences.•A new research framework holistically exploring insecticide stress response pathways is necessary. Insecticides are an invaluable pest management tool and anthropogenic stressors of widespread environmental occurrence that are subject to biased perceptions based on the targeted application, market value of use, and regulatory requirements. As a result, short-term and simplistic efforts focusing on lethal effects toward individual species and populations prevail. Holistic and comprehensive studies exploring rather common sublethal insecticide exposures are rare, particularly considering their potential role in structuring populations and communities in diverse environmental settings and potentially interfering in a range of ecological interactions. Studies on insecticide resistance, for example, do not go beyond population-based studies, disregarding temporal and spatial effects in the associated community, and rarely considering the whole of sublethal exposure. Some of these knowledge gaps are here recognized and explored.