Pesticides in the Aquatic Environment

Pesticides are ubiquitous contaminants of the freshwater aquatic environment. Pesticide residues are found in varying amounts in all components of the aquatic ecosystem including water, animal and plant tissue and sediments. Organochlorine pesticide residues in water, usually in the parts per trillion range, have long been recognized as potentially toxic in animals because they biomagnify in food chains to toxic levels. While other classes of insecticides and herbicides have been recognized as low level aquatic pollutants, their presence in surface waters has not been associated with direct toxicity to the egg stage of aquatic insects. Results from the caddisfly egg toxicity bioassay indicate that some insecticides and herbicides, at concentrations which are commonly found as residues in water in field situations, are embroyotoxic and/or teratogenic to eggs of the caddisfly T. tardus. Radioactive pesticide uptake experiments using T. tardus egg masses revealed that within 24 hours of exposure, pesticide content of egg masses was at least equal to that of the surrounding water.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Entomology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Belluck, David Alan

• Biology, Entomology

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8114387

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/68014