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Agricultural Spray Drift Concentrations in Rainwater, Stemflow, and Amphibians in Southern Georgia
Citation:
Glinski, D., R. Van Meter, Matt Henderson, AND Tom Purucker. Agricultural Spray Drift Concentrations in Rainwater, Stemflow, and Amphibians in Southern Georgia. 2017 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, TX, Austin, July 12 - 16, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at the 2017 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
Description:
In order to study spray drift contribution to non-targeted habitats, pesticide concentrations were measured in stemflow (water flowing down the trunk of a tree during a rain event), rainfall, and amphibians in an agriculturally impacted wetland area near Tifton, Georgia, USA. Agricultural fields and sampling locations were located on the University of Georgia's Gibbs research farm. Samples were analyzed for >150 pesticides and over 20 different pesticides were detected in these matrices. Data indicated that herbicides (metolachlor and atrazine) and fungicides (tebuconazole) were present with the highest concentrations in stemflow, followed by those in rainfall and amphibian tissue samples. Metolachlor had the highest frequency of detection and highest concentration in rainfall and stemflow samples. Higher concentrations of pesticides were observed in stemflow for a longer period than rainfall. Furthermore, rainfall and stemflow concentrations were compared against aquatic life benchmarks and environmental water screening values to determine if adverse effects would potentially occur for non-targeted organisms. Of the pesticides detected, several had concentrations that exceeded the aquatic life benchmark value. The majority of the time mixtures were present in the different matrices, making it difficult to determine the potential adverse effects that these compounds will have on non-target species, due to unknown potentiating effects. These data help assess the importance of indirect spray drift exposures to non-targeted habitats and species.
