P. Kangas | Geology Reports

USGS2003

Aqueous-phase disappearance of atrazine, metolachlor, and chlorpyrifos in laboratory aquaria and outdoor macrocosms

Dissipation processes are described for a combination of commonly used pesticides—atrazine (6-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino- s -triazine), metolachlor (2-chloro- N -[2-ethyl-6-methyl-phenyl]- N -[2-methoxy-1-methylethyl] acetamide), and chlorpyrifos ( O-O diethyl O -[3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinyl] phosphorothioate)—in a laboratory and outdoor pond systems. Dosing rates and timing were designed to duplicate those common in the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, USA. Treatments ranged from 2 and 2.5 mg/L to 0.2 and 0.25 mg/L respectively for atrazine and metolachlor, and chlorpyrifos was added at 1.0 and 0.1 mg/L in the aquaria and at 0.1 mg/L in the outdoor macrocosms. Chlorpyrifos disappearance was rapid in all of the systems and followed a two-phase sequence. Initial half-lives varied from 0.16 day to 0.38 day and showed similar rates in the aquaria and the outdoor systems. The second phase of the chlorpyrifis loss pattern was slower (18–20 days) in all the treatments except for the low herbicide treatment in the outdoor test, where it was 3.4 days. Compared to the outdoor system, herbicide losses were much slower in the aquaria, e.g., 150 days for atrazine and 55 days for metolachlor, and no appreciable loss of herbicide was apparent in the high-treated aquaria. In the outdoor systems, the half-lives for the low herbicide treatment were 27 days and 12 days, respectively, for atrazine and metolachlor, and 48 and 20 days, respectively for the high herbicide-treated pond. Very low levels of CIAT (6-amino-2-chloro-4-iso-propylamino- s -triazine) and CEAT (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-ethylamino- s -triazine), degradation products of atrazine, were observed in the outdoor studies.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗

USGS2000

Creating and managing wetland impoundments to provide habitat for aquatic birds

Patuxent Research Refuge, located in Central Maryland (USA), has approximately 140 ha of impoundments that were constructed for recreational and wildlife conservation purposes. Impoundments are of three major designs: dammed ravines, excavated basins, and diked ponds. Over 50 species of wetland plants were transplanted to impoundments of Patuxent from many parts of the United States between 1945 and 1963 to determine the species best suited for establishment in tannin-stained infertile waters. The wood duck was the only waterfowl species commonly observed on the Refuge when the area was established, but Canada geese, mallards, and black ducks, were introduced and numerous techniques developed to improve nesting and brood habitat. Twenty-six waterfowl species and 80 species of other water birds have used the impoundments for resting, feeding, or nesting. Management is now conducted to optimize avian biodiversity. Management techniques include drawdowns of water every 3-5 years in most impoundments to provide maximum plant and invertebrate food resources for wildlife. Research on the impounded wetlands at Patuxent has included evaluation of vegetation in regard to water level management, improving nest box design to reduce use of boxes by starlings, imprinting of waterfowl to elevated nesting structures to reduce predation on nests, and drawdown techniques to increase macroinvertebrates. Data on waterfowl abundance are evaluated relative to management activities and a preliminary computer model for management of the impoundments has been developed. Past, present, and future management and research projects are reviewed in this paper.

Book chapter↗