Abstract
Agrochemicals including neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides are frequently applied as seed treatments on corn, soybeans, and other common row crops. Crops grown from pesticide-treated seed are often directly planted in managed floodplain wetlands and used as a soil disturbance or food resource for wildlife. We quantified invertebrate communities within mid-latitude floodplain wetlands and assessed their response to use of pesticide-treated seeds within the floodplain. We collected and tested aqueous and sediment samples for pesticides in addition to sampling aquatic invertebrates from 22 paired wetlands. Samples were collected twice in 2016 (spring [pre-water level drawdown] and autumn [post-water level flood-up]) followed by a third sampling period (spring 2017). Meanwhile, during the summer of 2016, a portion of study wetlands were planted with either pesticide-treated or untreated corn seed. Neonicotinoid toxic equivalencies (NI-EQs) for sediment (X̅ = 0.58 μg/kg), water (X̅ = 0.02 μg/L), and sediment fungicide concentrations (X̅ = 0.10 μg/kg) were used to assess potential effects on wetland invertebrates. An overall decrease in aquatic insect richness and abundance was associated with greater NI-EQs in wetland water and sediments, as well as with sediment fungicide concentration. Post-treatment, treated wetlands displayed a decrease in insect taxa-richness and abundance before recovering by the spring of 2017. Information on timing and magnitude of aquatic insect declines will be useful when considering the use of seed treatments for wildlife management. More broadly, this study brings attention to how agriculture is used in wetland management and conservation planning.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded through a cooperative agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit which is jointly sponsored by MDC, the University of Missouri, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey, and the Wildlife Management Institute. We would like to thank W. Boys who was instrumental in early project development and data collection. Additionally, we thank J. Murray and the many laboratory technicians for diligently processing hundreds of invertebrate samples. We further thank D. Snow and the University of Nebraska’s Water Science Laboratory who assisted with chemical methodology. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government. The authors declare no competing interests.
Funding
This research was funded through a cooperative agreement with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit which is jointly sponsored by MDC, the University of Missouri, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
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E.B.W and D.M conceived the idea for and designed the study. K.J.K collected data, performed the data analysis, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. E.B.W, D.M, and A.R.M provided guidance throughout data analysis and writing of earlier manuscript drafts.
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Kuechle, K.J., Webb, E.B., Mengel, D. et al. Seed treatments containing neonicotinoids and fungicides reduce aquatic insect richness and abundance in midwestern USA–managed floodplain wetlands. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 45261–45275 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18991-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18991-9