An Assessment of Effects of the 2010-2011 Australian Plague Locust Response on Victorian Aquatic Ecosystems
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CENTRE FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT #9: AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010‐2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010-2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS Bryant Gagliardi, Sara Long, Gavin Rose, Lisa Golding, Jason Lieschke, Tara Daw Quadros, Leon Metzeling, Vincent Pettigrove. December 2011 CENTRE FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT #9: AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010‐2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 3 STUDY OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................................................... 13 MATERIALS AND METHODS ......................................................................................................... 13 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................................. 26 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................ 44 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................................... 52 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE LOCUST CONTROL PROGRAMS .............................. 53 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. 54 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 55 APPENDICES ...................................................................................................................................... 60 CENTRE FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT #9: AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010‐2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS TABLES Table 1: Summary of locust insecticide applications in Victoria on public land 2010‐2011 ................................. 7 Table 2: Synthetic APLR‐approved pesticides (DPI) and their half‐lives and toxicity to aquatic organisms ........ 9 Table 3: Threatened species, their status and locations within expected the locust risk zone. ......................... 15 Table 4: APLR‐approved insecticides measured above limit of detection in sediments. ................................... 26 Table 5: Insecticides measured above limit of detection in surface waters. .................................................... 26 Table 6: Mean conductivity (EC), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature of water at sites where in situ cages of invertebrates were deployed or used in laboratory exposures either before and/or after pesticide spraying ................................................................................................................................. 33 Table 7: Abundance of Murray hardyhead captured by each gear type at each location surveyed. ................. 36 Table 8: Summary results from four catchments sampled in the SRA program.. .............................................. 37 Table 9: Determination of impacted sediment samples contaminated with APLR‐approved pesticides ........... 40 Table 10: Determination of impacted biomonitoring sites contaminated with APLR‐approved pesticides in surface water ....................................................................................................................................... 42 CENTRE FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT #9: AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010‐2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS FIGURES Figure 1: Locust activity in eastern Australia in March 2010 .............................................................................. 4 Figure 2: Locust activity in south eastern Australia in December 2010. ............................................................. 5 Figure 3: Field sampling sites. ........................................................................................................................ 14 Figure 4: Decision‐making process to determine whether or not sites were impacted by the APLR. ................ 25 Figure 5: Mean (± SE) percent survival in C. tepperi larvae following five day exposure to sediment from sites where APLR‐approved pesticides were detected in the sediment. ......................................................... 28 Figure 6: Mean (± SE) percent difference in surviving larvae length compared to laboratory controls in C. tepperi larvae exposed for 5 days to sediment from sites where APLR‐approved pesticides were detected in the sediment. ................................................................................................................................. 29 Figure 7: Mean (± SE) adult emergence (normalized to laboratory control emergence) in C. tepperi larvae exposed for up to 15 days in sediment collected from sites where APLR‐approved pesticides were detected in the sediment. ..................................................................................................................... 30 Figure 8: Proportion (± SE) of deformed antennae in Chironomus larvae collected from locust pesticide contaminated sites, relative to reference. ............................................................................................. 31 Figure 9: Proportion (± SE) of deformed antennae in Polypedilum larvae collected from an APLR‐approved pesticide contaminated site (662), relative to reference. ....................................................................... 31 Figure 10: Mean survival of amphipods caged for 7‐d on pre‐ and post‐spray occasions at three locations as well as a reference site under laboratory control. ................................................................................. 35 Figure 11: Mean survival of snails caged for 7‐d on pre‐ and post‐spray occasions at three locations as well as a reference site and laboratory control and also exposed to the same site waters and sediments under laboratory conditions on the post spray occasion. ................................................................................. 36 CENTRE FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT #9: AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010‐2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS APPENDICES Appendix 1: Study sites, sampling regime and endpoints assessed ................................................................. 60 Appendix 2: Sites for EPA targeted macroinvertebrate monitoring ................................................................. 63 Appendix 3: Limits of reporting (LOR) forAPLR approved insecticides ............................................................. 64 Appendix 4: Organic carbon and organic matter levels for sediments contaminated with locust‐registered pesticides ............................................................................................................................................. 65 Appendix 5: Total organic carbon (TOC) and Total Nitrogen levels for surface waters contaminated with locust‐ registered pesticides ............................................................................................................................. 65 Appendix 6: Macroinvertebrate results from the EPA "targeted" sites sampled. ............................................. 66 CENTRE FOR AQUATIC POLLUTION IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL REPORT #9: AN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF THE 2010‐2011 AUSTRALIAN PLAGUE LOCUST RESPONSE ON VICTORIAN AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS Executive Summary In spring 2010, Victoria was threatened with a potentially serious locust plague. In response, the Victorian Government launched the Australian Plague Locust Response (APLR) to mitigate locust impacts by biological and chemical control, headed by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI). The present study is the Ecotoxicological Monitoring component of the Audit, Produce and Environmental Monitoring (APEM) Project, which monitored the APLR for impacts on compliance with legislation, and for unwanted insecticide impacts. The aim of this study was to monitor Victorian waterways in the plague locust risk zone for environmental impacts resulting from application of pesticides approved in the APLR. These results would in part inform best practices for future plague locust control with respect to pesticide applications. A total of 81 sites were monitored in this study. Presence of APLR- approved pesticides in environmental sediments and surface waters was determined by chemical analysis. Ecosystem impacts for each contaminated sample were inferred by assessing at least one of the following: toxicity of sediment to the freshwater midge Chironomus tepperi, inducement of morphological deformities in the freshwater midge Chironomidae by sediment and surface waters, and impacts to populations of the native endangered fish, the Murray hardyhead (Craterocephalus fluviatilis). Four river basins in the affected region were also monitored