Herbicides and trace metals in urban waters in Melbourne, Australia (2011–12): concentrations and potential impact

Allinson, Mayumi; Zhang, Pei; Bui, AnhDuyen; Myers, Jackie H.; Pettigrove, Vincent; Rose, Geoffrey; Salzman, Scott; Walters, Robert; Allinson, Graeme

doi:10.1007/s11356-017-8395-9

Cited by 28 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Stormwater wetlands typically contain a mixture of contaminants, often at individual concentrations below those deemed biologically relevant (Allinson et al. ). Therefore, although frogs can discriminate and avoid unfavorable conditions (e.g., Vonesh and Buck ), their ability to do so may be reduced when they are exposed to complex mixtures of contaminants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stormwater wetlands can function as ecological traps for urban frogs

Sievers

Parris

Swearer

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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Around cities, natural wetlands are rapidly being destroyed and replaced with wetlands constructed to treat stormwater. Although the intended purpose of these wetlands is to manage urban stormwater, they are inhabited by wildlife that might be exposed to contaminants. These effects will be exacerbated if animals are unable to differentiate between stormwater treatment wetlands of varying quality and some function as "ecological traps" (i.e., habitats that animals prefer despite fitness being lower than in other habitats). To examine if urban stormwater wetlands can be ecological traps for frogs, we tested if survival, metamorphosis-related measures, and predator avoidance behaviors of frogs differed within mesocosms that simulated stormwater wetlands with different contaminant levels, and paired this with a natural oviposition experiment to assess breeding-site preferences. We provide the first empirical evidence that these wetlands can function as ecological traps for frogs. Tadpoles had lower survival and were less responsive to predator olfactory cues when raised in more polluted stormwater wetlands, but also reached metamorphosis earlier and at a larger size. A greater size at metamorphosis was likely a result of increased per capita food availability due to higher mortality combined with eutrophication, although other compensatory effects such as selective-mortality removing smaller individuals from low-quality mesocosms may also explain these results. Breeding adults laid comparable numbers of eggs across wetlands with high and low contaminant levels, indicating no avoidance of the former. Since stormwater treatment wetlands are often the only available aquatic habitat in urban landscapes we need to better understand how they perform as habitats to guide management decisions that mitigate their potential ecological costs. This may include improving wetland quality so that fitness is no longer compromised, preventing colonization by animals, altering the cues animals use when selecting habitats, pretreating contaminated water prior to release, providing off-line wetlands nearby, or simply not constructing stormwater treatment wetlands in sensitive areas. Our study confirms the potential for urban stormwater treatment wetlands to function as ecological traps and highlights the need for greater awareness of their prevalence and impact at landscape scales.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stormwater wetlands can function as ecological traps for urban frogs

Sievers

Parris

Swearer

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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“…; Allinson et al. ). These pesticides can adversely affect fish and invertebrates at low concentrations (Nebeker & Schuytema ; Amweg et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Frog occupancy of polluted wetlands in urban landscapes

Sievers

Hale

Swearer

et al. 2018

Conservation Biology

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Urban sprawl and the rising popularity of water-sensitive urban design of urban landscapes has led to a global surge in the number of wetlands constructed to collect and treat stormwater runoff in cities. However, contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, in stormwater adversely affect the survival, growth, and reproduction of animals inhabiting these wetlands. A key question is whether wildlife can identify and avoid highly polluted wetlands. We investigated whether pond-breeding frogs are attempting to breed in wetlands that affect the fitness of their offspring across 67 urban wetlands in Melbourne, Australia. Frog species richness and the concentration of contaminants (heavy metals and pesticides) were not significantly related, even in the most polluted wetlands. The proportion of fringing vegetation at a wetland had the greatest positive influence on the number of frog species present and the probability of occurrence of individual species, indicating that frogs inhabited wetlands with abundant vegetation, regardless of their pollution status. These wetlands contained contaminant levels similar to urban wetlands around the world at levels that reduce larval amphibian survival. These results are, thus, likely generalizable to other areas, suggesting that urban managers could inadvertently be creating ecological traps in countless cities. Wetlands are important tools for the management of urban stormwater runoff, but their construction should not facilitate declines in wetland-dependent urban wildlife.

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“…Likewise, diuron was dominantly found in interand sub-tidal deposits of GBR [134,135]. In Melbourne, Allinson et al [136] examined water quality of five different aquatic systems and found that many pesticides were present in high concentrations which included MCPA (83%), diuron (63%) and atrazine (53%). In another study, water screening from wetlands resulted in the detection of many harmful pesticides (simazine, atrazine and terbutryn) in high concentrations (Allinson et al [137]).…”

Section: Pesticide Contamination and Its Impacts On Global Ecosystemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worldwide pesticide usage and its impacts on ecosystem

et al. 2019

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Pesticides are extensively used in modern agriculture and are an effective and economical way to enhance the yield quality and quantity, thus ensuring food security for the ever-growing population around the globe. Approximately, 2 million tonnes of pesticides are utilized annually worldwide, where China is the major contributing country, followed by the USA and Argentina, which is increasing rapidly. However, by the year 2020, the global pesticide usage has been estimated to increase up to 3.5 million tonnes. Although pesticides are beneficial for crop production point of view, extensive use of pesticides can possess serious consequences because of their bio-magnification and persistent nature. Diverse pesticides directly or indirectly polluted air, water, soil and overall ecosystem which cause serious health hazard for living being. In the present manuscript, an attempt has been made to critically review the global usage of different pesticides and their major adverse impacts on ecosystem, which will provide guidance for a wide range of researchers in this area.

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Herbicides and trace metals in urban waters in Melbourne, Australia (2011–12): concentrations and potential impact

Cited by 28 publications

References 18 publications

Stormwater wetlands can function as ecological traps for urban frogs

Stormwater wetlands can function as ecological traps for urban frogs

Frog occupancy of polluted wetlands in urban landscapes

Worldwide pesticide usage and its impacts on ecosystem

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