Benthic diatoms as indicators of herbicide toxicity in rivers – A new SPEcies At Risk (SPEAR<inf>herbicides</inf>) index

Wood, RJ; Mitrovic, SM; Lim, RP; Warne, MSJ; Dunlop, J; Kefford, BJ

Benthic diatoms as indicators of herbicide toxicity in rivers – A new SPEcies At Risk (SPEAR<inf>herbicides</inf>) index

Wood, RJ

Mitrovic, SM

Lim, RP Warne, MSJ Dunlop, J Kefford, BJ

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Ecological Indicators, 2019, 99 pp. 203 - 213
Issue Date:: 2019-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Wood, RJ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6389-1048	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mitrovic, SM https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5528-2215	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lim, RP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Warne, MSJ	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dunlop, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kefford, BJ	en_US
dc.date.issued	2019-04-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Ecological Indicators, 2019, 99 pp. 203 - 213	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1470-160X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/134690
dc.description.abstract	© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Benthic diatom communities are used widely as indicators of river health due to their rapid response to changes in water quality. The ability for diatom-based indices to detect eutrophication has been well documented; however, an index designed specifically to detect herbicide impacts is yet to be established. This is required as herbicide contamination of rivers is common in agricultural regions and poses a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems. This study developed a new biomonitoring index (SPEARherbicides) using benthic diatom communities to detect the toxic impacts of herbicides in rivers, and tested it across 14 rivers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area, Australia. The new index uses diatom species traits to classify diatoms as either sensitive or tolerant to herbicides and calculates the fraction of sensitive taxa within a sample. The SPEARherbicides index showed a decline in herbicide sensitive diatoms with increasing herbicide toxicity of the sites. The impacts of herbicide toxicity on the diatom community were only apparent after the wet season when aqueous herbicide concentrations typically peak and diatoms were able to recover during the dry season when herbicide concentrations were lower. SPEARherbicides values had a negative relationship with the percentage of grazing and cropping in catchments but had a positive relationship with the percentage of conservation in catchments. SPEARherbicides also had a negative relationship with co-occurring potential stressors such as nutrients and total suspended solids.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Ecological Indicators	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.12.035	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Benthic diatoms as indicators of herbicide toxicity in rivers – A new SPEcies At Risk (SPEAR<inf>herbicides</inf>) index	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	99	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management	en_US
utslib.for	03 Chemical Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	05 Environmental Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	99	en_US

Abstract:

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Benthic diatom communities are used widely as indicators of river health due to their rapid response to changes in water quality. The ability for diatom-based indices to detect eutrophication has been well documented; however, an index designed specifically to detect herbicide impacts is yet to be established. This is required as herbicide contamination of rivers is common in agricultural regions and poses a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems. This study developed a new biomonitoring index (SPEARherbicides) using benthic diatom communities to detect the toxic impacts of herbicides in rivers, and tested it across 14 rivers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area, Australia. The new index uses diatom species traits to classify diatoms as either sensitive or tolerant to herbicides and calculates the fraction of sensitive taxa within a sample. The SPEARherbicides index showed a decline in herbicide sensitive diatoms with increasing herbicide toxicity of the sites. The impacts of herbicide toxicity on the diatom community were only apparent after the wet season when aqueous herbicide concentrations typically peak and diatoms were able to recover during the dry season when herbicide concentrations were lower. SPEARherbicides values had a negative relationship with the percentage of grazing and cropping in catchments but had a positive relationship with the percentage of conservation in catchments. SPEARherbicides also had a negative relationship with co-occurring potential stressors such as nutrients and total suspended solids.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/134690