Macro-ecotoxicology: Spatial and causal implications of insecticide contamination in surface waters

对全球地表水中杀虫剂暴露的荟萃分析(SCHU2271 6-1)首次揭示，尽管这是一种罕见的事件，但在量化了杀虫剂浓度的案例中，约有50%(n=11,300)的杀虫剂浓度高于监管阈值水平(RTL)。较新的物质类别，即拟除虫菊酯，显示出更高的RTL超标，拥有更详细的环境立法的国家的情况仅略好一些，这一事实已在欧盟风险评估中详细讨论。之前的研究仅基于科学同行评议文献中的数据，从而限制了要得出的空间和因果关系。因此，本项目旨在分析一个全新的数据集(见提案标题页上的图表)，即由美国地质调查局和美国环境保护局提供的美国地表水杀虫剂污染数据。该数据集的高空间分辨率和可获得的大量附加信息，再加上其庞大的规模(超过100,000个已测量的杀虫剂浓度加上未检测到的案例)，允许在大空间尺度上处理一组全新的研究假设：i)杀虫剂使用率是RTL超标率空间模式的关键参数；ii)可以基于政府和科学监测数据进行确凿的大规模风险评估，并对已识别的风险结果的监测概念的差异进行量化；和三)目前现有的全面的全球新烟碱类实地数据能够对其暴露特征和对水生生态系统的风险进行结论性评估，并将水生风险与其他杀虫剂类别的风险进行比较。除了检验这些假设，目前的项目还评估了混合物和代谢物对总体风险的贡献，并描绘了美国农业和城市杀虫剂使用的风险。本项目需要生成、处理、质量保证和评估一个非常大和敏感的多参数数据集，并在农药风险评估方面有扎实的知识。本方法应有助于确定和建立一个新的宏观生态毒理学研究领域。

A meta-analysis of insecticide exposure in global surface waters (SCHU2271 6-1) has revealed for the first time that, although a rare event, about 50 percent of the cases (n = 11,300), in which an insecticide concentration had been quantified, represented concentrations above the regulatory threshold levels (RTL). Newer substance classes, i.e. pyrethroids showed even higher RTL exceedances and the situation in countries with more elaborated environmental legislation was only marginally better, a fact that had been addressed in detail for the EU risk assessment. The previous study was based solely on data from the scientific peer-reviewed literature leading to restrictions in spatial and causal relationships to be drawn. The present project thus aims at analysing an entirely new dataset (see graph on proposal title page), namely the insecticide contamination data for surface waters from the USA provided by the US Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The high spatial resolution and the multitude of additional information available in this dataset combined with its sheer size (more than 100,000 cases of measured insecticide concentrations plus non-detects) allows to address a set of entirely new research hypotheses at a large spatial scale: I) insecticide use rate is a key parameter for spatial patterns in RTL exceedance rates; II) A conclusive large-scale risk evaluation can be achieved based on governmental and scientific monitoring data and differences in monitoring concepts on the discerned risk outcomes be quantified; and III) Current available, comprehensive global neonicotinoid field data enable a conclusive evaluation of their exposure characteristics and risks for aquatic ecosystems, as well as a comparison of aquatic risks with those of other insecticide classes. Alongside of testing these hypotheses, the current project evaluates also the contribution of mixtures and metabolites to overall risks and delineates risks from US agricultural and urban insecticide uses. The present project requires generation, handling, quality assurance and evaluation of a very large and sensitive multi-parameter dataset and solid knowledge in the risk assessment of pesticides. The present approach should contribute to the definition and establishment of a new research field on macro-ecotoxicology.