Thesis Title:
Quantifying the fate and toxicities of pesticides in a prairie pothole wetland ecosystem
Project Description:
Background:
Several reports have demonstrated that contamination of prairie wetlands by a range of herbicides is widespread, and that their levels of contamination may prove harmful to organisms (Donald et al. 1999). We need a better understanding of the environmental sources and toxicological affects of these pesticides in water in order to develop policy tools to establish better land and wetland management practices. Pesticide residues have been detected in air, rainfall and atmospheric dust of the Canadian Prairies (Waite et al. 2005) supporting the suggestion that wet and dry deposition could contribute significantly to pesticide concentrations in prairie wetlands (Donald et al. 1999).
Objectives:
The general theme of my research is to understand sources and toxicological effects of herbicide mixtures in prairie wetlands. The objectives of my research are to determine:
- Pesticide residues in air, rainfall and atmospheric dust and calculate their contribution to wetland water contamination in a hummocky terrain.
- Pesticide residues in air across the Manitoba agricultural region as a function of farm management practices (i.e., cropping systems, nearby pesticide applications), weather patterns (i.e., precipitation intensity, wind speed, temperature) and time
- The toxicological effects of a mixture of herbicides on invertebrates in a wetland environment
Significance:
The purpose of the above research will be to improve information to the development and assessment of environmental policy by provincial and federal governments of Canada.
Supervisor:
Expected Date of Completion:
December 2011
Previous Degree:
Email: