Fig. 7.
Low dose chronic exposure reduces visual acuity and affects behavior. (A) Characterization of ERGs of animals exposed to imidacloprid for 1, 10, and 20 d. Red arrowheads indicate the on-transient signal and dashed red line the amplitude, both of which are reduced in exposed flies. (B) Amplitude of ERGs after 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 d of exposure to imidacloprid (n = 8 to 10 adult flies/time point/treatment). (C) On-transient signal of ERGs after 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 d of exposure to imidacloprid (n = 8 to 10 adult flies/time point/treatment). (D) Bang sensitivity of adults at 1, 10, and 20 d of exposure. Recovery time after 10 s vortexing at maximum speed was recorded in seconds for each fly (n = 100 adult flies/time point/treatment). (E) Percentage of adult flies that failed the climbing assay at 1, 10, and 20 d of exposure (n = 100 adult flies/time point/treatment). Flies exposed to the same doses of imidacloprid in media supplemented with 75 µg/L of NACA show a significant improvement in climbing ability after 10 and 20 d of exposure. Error bars in B and C represent mean ± SD B and C, t test; D and E, Wilcoxon test; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.