Project Description: Pesticides present in nonpoint source agricultural runoff may pose a significant threat to nontarget estuarine organisms. Large quantities of pesticides are applied to vegetable crops in coastal areas to control a variety of insect and plant pests and new pesticides are being developed at a rapid rate. During the period 1995-1999, 136 new pesticide active ingredients were registered. The goal of ARIES research is to understand, predict, prevent and mitigate the impacts of these chemicals in estuarine ecosystems. Research under ARIES is conducted at the community, population, organismal and sub-organismal level. Key components of ARIES research include: (1) comparative toxicity evaluations of current use pesticides to establish relative risk relationships in representative estuarine taxa; ( 2) development and utilization of biomarkers to evaluate the exposure and effects of pesticides in estuarine organisms (3) evaluation of pesticide effects in estuarine communities using a simulated saltmarsh (mesocosm) and (4) evaluation of the impacts of agricultural nonpoint source runoff using biomonitoring approaches.
Expected Outcome: Results obtained under ARIES are used to provide information to our customers and stakeholders regarding the risk associated with agricultural pesticide use adjacent to estuarine systems. This information can be then used to develop risk reduction strategies for agricultural pesticide use in the coastal zone.
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Ongoing
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PI: Key, Pete -NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
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