West Virginia Project
Effects of Imidacloprid Treatment of Hemlocks on Aquatic Ecosystems: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?
October 2016 - September 2019
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- USGS-NPS Water Quality Partnership Program
The invasive exotic insect, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), is decimating hemlock ecosystems and treatment with the neonicitonoid, imidacloprid, is frequently used to control HWA. Our study examined the risks and non-target impacts of imidacloprid treatments in riparian hemlock forests on water quality, benthic macroinvertebrates, and stream salamanders. Results could be used to reassess the HWA treatment programs in our study areas (NPS parks and Monongahela NF) as well as other lands that have HWA treatment programs. We found that stream salamanders bioaccumulated imidacloprid.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Crayton, S.M., P.B. Wood, D.J. Brown, A.R. Millikin, T.J. Simpson, K.M. Ku, and YL Park. 2020. Bioaccumulation of the Pesticide Imidacloprid in Stream Organisms and Sublethal Effects on Salamanders. Global Ecology and Conservation 24 (2020) e01292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01292 | November 2020 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Crayton, S.M., P.B. Wood, D.J. Brown, L. Paul, Y.L. Park. Effects of Imidacloprid Exposure on Aquatic and Terrestrial Salamander Abundances. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference. Sept 27 - Oct 1, 2020, Louisville, KY. | September 2020 |
| Theses and Dissertations | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Crayton, S.M. 2019. Stream Salamander and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Responses to Imidacloprid Exposure. MS Thesis, West Virginia University, Morgantown. Aug 2019. | August 2019 |