Pesticide pollution associations with riverine invertebrate communities in England

Poyntz-Wright, Imogen P.; Harrison, Xavier A.; Johnson, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1570-3764; Zappala, Susan; Tyler, Charles R.. 2023 Pesticide pollution associations with riverine invertebrate communities in England. Science of the Total Environment, 903, 166519. 14, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166519

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166519

Abstract/Summary

Globally freshwater biodiversity has experienced major decline and chemical pollutants are believed to have played a significant role in this decline, but this has not been well quantified for most riverine invertebrate populations. Here we applied a biogeographically independent trait-based bioindicator, SPEARpesticides across sites across five regions (Northern, Midlands and Western, Anglian, Southeast, and Southwest) in England to investigate for associations specifically between pesticide use/pollution and riverine invertebrate communities over a 55-year period (1965–2019). Both spatially and temporally post-1990, the Anglian and Thames regions consistently showed the lowest SPEARpesticides scores, illustrating the presence of fewer pesticide sensitive species. The Anglian region had the highest pesticide use compared to all other regions from 1990 to 2018 and there were negative relationships between the level of pesticide/insecticide use and the regional SPEARpesticides score. Biochemical Oxygen Demand and ammonia, as measures of general water quality, were also negatively correlated with the SPEARpesticides scores across the regions, but these factors were not the driver for the lower SPEARpesticides scores seen in the Anglian region. Based on SPEARpesticides scores, riverine invertebrate communities in England have been most impacted in the Anglian region and we evidence chronic insecticide exposure is likely a significant factor in shaping the status of those invertebrate communities.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166519
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Pollution (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	0048-9697
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	ecotoxicology, bio-indicator, water quality, macroinvertebrates
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Data and Information
Date made live:	10 Oct 2023 16:29 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536038

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166519

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Pollution (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

0048-9697

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

ecotoxicology, bio-indicator, water quality, macroinvertebrates