NERP TE Project 4.2 - The chronic effects of pesticides and their persistence in tropical waters, 2011-2014 (AIMS)

Research Project

Researchers: Andrew Negri (Point of contact, principalInvestigator) ,  Australian Institute of Marine Science (Associated with) ,  Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) (Associated with) ,  eAtlas Data Manager (publisher, Point of contact)

Full description Pesticides, and particularly herbicides from agricultural sources, have been detected in nearshore sites of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) all year round. The actual impact from these concentrations of herbicides is under debate and information on cumulative impacts is required. To address this, a series of experiments will examine how plants and corals are affected by herbicides in the water in conjunction with other stressors such as temperature, low salinity and low light. An important source of herbicides in coastal waters is flood plumes from river runoff. By creating experimental conditions similar to GBR flood plumes we will determine how long herbicides persist and how they are transformed as they travel into coastal waters.
This project will experimentally:
1. Quantify the chronic effects and toxic thresholds of herbicides detected in the GBR on seagrass and corals under current and future climate scenarios, using controlled laboratory experiments.
2. Determine the persistence (half lives) of herbicides (including diuron, atrazine, hexazinone and tebuthiuron) at multiple temperatures under light conditions relevant to tropical coastal and inshore waters in flood plumes and test the toxicity of their breakdown products using flask and outdoor tank experiments.

Notes Credit
This project was funded by the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment through the National Environmental Research Program Tropical Ecosystems Hub with co-investment from project partners and collaborators.

Data time period: 2011-07-01 to 31 12 2014

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