Impact of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Estuaries and Coastal Streams

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used pesticides worldwide – used in agriculture, pest control, professional landscaping, home garden care and pet treatments – and have been linked to declines in pollinator populations. This project will provide data to the City of Santa Barbara and state and federal agencies on the potential ecological impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides in urban and agricultural runoff to coastal streams and estuaries. Investigators will monitor urban creeks, agricultural runoff and receiving estuaries for toxicity before, during and after rain events. They will also conduct laboratory exposure experiments on aquatic insects and marine amphipods to predict long-term population impacts and develop a Dynamic Energy Budget model to predict population level impacts. Project results will be presented by the project trainee, the City of Santa Barbara, UCSB’s Environmental Media and Outreach Center, and through peer-reviewed journals.