In many countries, ecotoxic herbicides are routinely being used in aquatic, riparian and floodplain habitats for the destruction and elimination of unwanted plants. Hardy pioneering plants usually require stronger concoctions of herbicides mixed together before application to give "better results". Leachates from herbicides can be flushed into waterways or seep into near surface aquifers. In some countries, ecotoxic herbicides are applied directly into streams and other water bodies to kill aquatic plants, contrary to manufacturers warnings of their toxicity to all aquatic organisms. I am seeking empirical research documenting the impacts of herbicides on aquatic organisms, particularly macroinvertebrates.
You can visit the following links to have some relevant information.
https://www.coast.noaa.gov/czm/pollutioncontrol/media/Technical/D30%20-%20Relyea.%202005.%20The%20impact%20of%20insecticides%20and%20herbicides%20on%20the%20biodiversity.pdf
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00288330.1995.9516683
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/21779953_Effects_of_the_herbicides_hexazinone_and_triclopyr_ester_on_aquatic_insects
Article Effects of the herbicides hexazinone and triclopyr ester on ...
Its I'll depend kn many things such as tome of exposure, concentration and. Sensitivity of the microorganisms and in most cases I think it will have dramatic impacts
In the Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, the water is now regarded as potentially toxic due to runoff of water from the adjacent fields of grape vines. The concentration of some chemicals that are believed to be carcinogenic to humans is increasing beyond acceptable limits. Since it is a closed basin with little outflow, it represents a time-bomb for those using the lake. In the UK, despite frequent rains,the incidence of cancer in humans is much higher in rural areas for people using groundwater compared with those using fresh surface water that has been treated suitably. In permafrost areas,this may be reversed due to therelatively impermeable frozen ground.
Stuart.
Many thanks for the feedback Stuart, Jayanta et al...much appreciated. Here in the high country of Aotearoa Oceana, our rangeland watersheds have many similarities with the Okanagan basin which we studied in post grad ecology at UBC. The geographic, ecological and colonial landuse comparisons are worth pursuing. Welcome to visit to come and see for yourselves!
Did I miss the commercial conflict of interest disclosure in the NZ reference Jayanta? The Ahuriri River has been subjected to multiple herbicide applications by various agencies, for so many decades (along with many other ecological abuses) that the statistical sampling protocols used in this study are misinformed and unreliable.
Severe disruptions to the Ahuriri's hyporheic and riparian zones from engineering works and measures, as well as entrenched pastoral desertification from over a century of riverbed grazing ~make closed systems, linear cause and effect experiments strictly invalid scientifically...
As the author will be aware, the law of unintended consequences has rebuffed attempts to turn a temperate zone distributary river system, into an alpine braided river, by repeated spraying with ecotoxic herbicides; by the eradication of riparian woodlands and even by bulldozing.
As a result of routinely spraying herbicides in waterways, and eradicating shrublands and woodlands from riparian zones, the Ahuriri River has emerged as an international tourist icon attracting folk from around the world to photograph the extensive floodplain fields of rainbow lupins that now grace the badly degraded river beds.
Please look into the field dose with respective volume of soil and water, then enter into the survival tests followed by its impact in multiplication and energy expenditure
@Kenneth M Towe ~ Sorry to say Ken but NZ's "thinly" populated status is a myth ! The last count we did here at our field research station, revealed when ungulate herds of cattle, sheep, goats and horses are converted to human impact equivalents NZ has a population of round 200 million ~ possibly more than Japan!
This helps explain why NZ is listed by UN agencies among the worst performing countries globally with an abysmal record for pastoral desertification and farmland degradation ~ worse than the USA!
Our streams and rivers are dying in droves! And as aquifers are sucked lower and lower by pastoralists irrigating everywhere they can, altered tectonic stresses are triggering serious earthquakes. After the Christchurch earthquake, to divert public attention from widespread eco-colonial impacts, PM John Keys described Nature as ruthless and capricious ~ when he could have noted, English colonials built Christchurch in the wrong place!
Scientists invent, careless greedy ignorants apply, all ( humans, plants, animals, insects, environment) are expected to suffer.
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