Pesticides are used in both agricultural and urban settings to manage unwanted plants, insects, fungi, and other pests. However, these substances and their breakdown products can move beyond their intended application sites through various means, ending up in areas where they weren't meant to be. This movement can happen via the air, through water (both surface and groundwater), and by sticking to soil or sediment particles. Depending on how long they stick around and how concentrated they are, pesticides can harm aquatic creatures and people. To grasp the risks associated with pesticide exposure, it's crucial to comprehend how these chemicals move and behave in the environment.
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment Study
Neonicotinoids are a new class of insecticides chemically related to nicotine. Like nicotine, they act on receptors in the nerves and are generally much more toxic to insects, than they are to mammals and other higher organisms. Their use has increased rapidly over the last decade, driven in large part by their use for seed coating.
USGS Environmental Health Science
In the Pesticide Fate Research Group Laboratory, we see a scientist using an instrument to identify unknown organic compounds in environmental samples. It gives exact masses of chemical compounds, allowing scientists to decipher the elemental composition of a compound, and the chemical structure, without ever having known what they were looking for in the first place.
Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory
The Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory is comprised of multidisciplinary scientists with experiences in method development, sample collection, sample preparation, and instrumental analysis. The lab is equipped with instrumentation for the identification and quantification of trace level organic contaminants in water, sediment, soil, plants, biota, etc.
The Pesticide Fate Research Group (PFRG) operates within the USGS California Water Science Center, focusing on evaluating the occurrence, fate, and transport of current-use pesticides and organic contaminants in both aquatic and terrestrial environments across California and the nation. Comprising chemists, hydrologists, and physical scientists with specialized expertise, the PFRG engages in all stages of research, from field study design and sampling to analytical method development across various matrices such as water, sediment, plants, and biota. Utilizing cutting-edge instrumentation, the group conducts sample analysis, interprets data, manages information, and communicates findings to diverse stakeholders.
While pesticides represent the primary research domain, the PFRG's capabilities extend to investigating a broader spectrum of organic chemicals, including disinfection by-products, substances linked to cannabis production, alkylphenols, and others. By leveraging their skills and analytical prowess, the group addresses a wide array of environmental contaminants.
Establishing collaborative partnerships with state agencies, academic researchers, and fellow scientists within the USGS and other federal entities is central to the PFRG's approach. Funding for projects stems from various sources, including USGS mission areas such as Environmental Health (including the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and Contaminant Biology Program), Ecosystems, and Water, as well as support from other USGS Water Science Centers and cooperating entities like the California State Department of Pesticide Regulation, Water Resources Control Board, Department of Water Resources, among others.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment Study
Occurrence of Current-use Pesticides in Suisun Bay and Potential Effects on Phytoplankton
Pesticide Studies in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay Estuary
Pyrethroids
Pesticide Occurrence in California – Yolo Bypass Pesticide Analyses
Delta Regional Monitoring Program: Current-use Pesticides
Coordinated Pesticide Reconnaissance Study of Surface Waters in California
Pesticides in Suspended Sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers
Data releases in ScienceBase are primarily focused on raw and processed data resulting from various research activities. The primary goal of these data releases is to make the data collected by USGS scientists accessible and usable. This open data approach facilitates transparency, reproducibility, and further research by allowing others to analyze, reinterpret, or build upon the original data.
Pesticides in small volume plasma samples
Pesticide Concentrations Measured in Zooplankton Samples Collected from the Sacramento River and Yolo Bypass, California, 2021
Multiresidue extraction of current-use pesticides from complex solid matrices using energized dispersive extraction with analysis by gas and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy
Pesticide concentrations in bees and other matrices collected from sunflower fields (with and without a neonicotinoid seed treatment) near Sacramento, California
Concentrations of pesticides in silicone bands as passive samplers and sediment in Pinnacles National Park and Bureau of Land Management lands in San Benito County, California, 2019-2021
Pesticide detections in streams throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range using passive samplers from 2017 to 2019
Insecticide and fungicide concentrations in irrigation runoff and soils from a lettuce field in the Salinas Valley, California, 2019 and 2020
Pesticide concentrations in surface waters of the Sacramento Valley rice-growing regions, 2010
Partitioning of six pyrethroid insecticides at varying salinities
Fungicides in nectar and pollen collected by bumble bees in a cherry orchard
USGS publications serve as authoritative sources of information for scientists, policymakers, educators, and the general public, contributing significantly to our understanding of the earth's processes, landscape changes, resource management, and environmental health. The accessibility of these publications ensures that the valuable insights and findings from the USGS are widely available.
Pesticides in small volume plasma samples: Method development and application to smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Neonicotinoid sunflower seed treatment, while not detected in pollen and nectar, still impacts wild bees and crop yield
Multiresidue extraction of current-use pesticides from complex solid matrices using energized dispersive guided extraction with analysis by gas and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy
Watershed-scale risk to aquatic organisms from complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River
Juvenile African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) express growth, metamorphosis, mortality, gene expression, and metabolic changes when exposed to thiamethoxam and clothianidin
The silence of the clams: Forestry registered pesticides as multiple stressors on soft-shell clams
Impacts of neonicotinoid seed treatments on the wild bee community in agricultural field margins
Assessing the ecological functionality and integrity of natural ponds, excavated ponds and stormwater basins for conserving amphibian diversity
Evaluation of ELISA for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological matrices: Cross-reactivities, matrix interferences, and comparison to LC-MS/MS
Cyprosulfamide: Analysis of the herbicide safener and two of its degradates in surface water and groundwater from the Midwestern United States
Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA
Cross-ecosystem fluxes of pesticides from prairie wetlands mediated by aquatic insect emergence: Implications for terrestrial insectivores
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Below are partners associated with this project.
Pesticides are used in both agricultural and urban settings to manage unwanted plants, insects, fungi, and other pests. However, these substances and their breakdown products can move beyond their intended application sites through various means, ending up in areas where they weren't meant to be. This movement can happen via the air, through water (both surface and groundwater), and by sticking to soil or sediment particles. Depending on how long they stick around and how concentrated they are, pesticides can harm aquatic creatures and people. To grasp the risks associated with pesticide exposure, it's crucial to comprehend how these chemicals move and behave in the environment.
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment Study
Neonicotinoids are a new class of insecticides chemically related to nicotine. Like nicotine, they act on receptors in the nerves and are generally much more toxic to insects, than they are to mammals and other higher organisms. Their use has increased rapidly over the last decade, driven in large part by their use for seed coating.
USGS Environmental Health Science
In the Pesticide Fate Research Group Laboratory, we see a scientist using an instrument to identify unknown organic compounds in environmental samples. It gives exact masses of chemical compounds, allowing scientists to decipher the elemental composition of a compound, and the chemical structure, without ever having known what they were looking for in the first place.
Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory
The Organic Chemistry Research Laboratory is comprised of multidisciplinary scientists with experiences in method development, sample collection, sample preparation, and instrumental analysis. The lab is equipped with instrumentation for the identification and quantification of trace level organic contaminants in water, sediment, soil, plants, biota, etc.
The Pesticide Fate Research Group (PFRG) operates within the USGS California Water Science Center, focusing on evaluating the occurrence, fate, and transport of current-use pesticides and organic contaminants in both aquatic and terrestrial environments across California and the nation. Comprising chemists, hydrologists, and physical scientists with specialized expertise, the PFRG engages in all stages of research, from field study design and sampling to analytical method development across various matrices such as water, sediment, plants, and biota. Utilizing cutting-edge instrumentation, the group conducts sample analysis, interprets data, manages information, and communicates findings to diverse stakeholders.
While pesticides represent the primary research domain, the PFRG's capabilities extend to investigating a broader spectrum of organic chemicals, including disinfection by-products, substances linked to cannabis production, alkylphenols, and others. By leveraging their skills and analytical prowess, the group addresses a wide array of environmental contaminants.
Establishing collaborative partnerships with state agencies, academic researchers, and fellow scientists within the USGS and other federal entities is central to the PFRG's approach. Funding for projects stems from various sources, including USGS mission areas such as Environmental Health (including the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and Contaminant Biology Program), Ecosystems, and Water, as well as support from other USGS Water Science Centers and cooperating entities like the California State Department of Pesticide Regulation, Water Resources Control Board, Department of Water Resources, among others.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Neonicotinoid Seed Treatment Study
Occurrence of Current-use Pesticides in Suisun Bay and Potential Effects on Phytoplankton
Pesticide Studies in the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay Estuary
Pyrethroids
Pesticide Occurrence in California – Yolo Bypass Pesticide Analyses
Delta Regional Monitoring Program: Current-use Pesticides
Coordinated Pesticide Reconnaissance Study of Surface Waters in California
Pesticides in Suspended Sediment of the Alamo and New Rivers
Data releases in ScienceBase are primarily focused on raw and processed data resulting from various research activities. The primary goal of these data releases is to make the data collected by USGS scientists accessible and usable. This open data approach facilitates transparency, reproducibility, and further research by allowing others to analyze, reinterpret, or build upon the original data.
Pesticides in small volume plasma samples
Pesticide Concentrations Measured in Zooplankton Samples Collected from the Sacramento River and Yolo Bypass, California, 2021
Multiresidue extraction of current-use pesticides from complex solid matrices using energized dispersive extraction with analysis by gas and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy
Pesticide concentrations in bees and other matrices collected from sunflower fields (with and without a neonicotinoid seed treatment) near Sacramento, California
Concentrations of pesticides in silicone bands as passive samplers and sediment in Pinnacles National Park and Bureau of Land Management lands in San Benito County, California, 2019-2021
Pesticide detections in streams throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range using passive samplers from 2017 to 2019
Insecticide and fungicide concentrations in irrigation runoff and soils from a lettuce field in the Salinas Valley, California, 2019 and 2020
Pesticide concentrations in surface waters of the Sacramento Valley rice-growing regions, 2010
Partitioning of six pyrethroid insecticides at varying salinities
Fungicides in nectar and pollen collected by bumble bees in a cherry orchard
USGS publications serve as authoritative sources of information for scientists, policymakers, educators, and the general public, contributing significantly to our understanding of the earth's processes, landscape changes, resource management, and environmental health. The accessibility of these publications ensures that the valuable insights and findings from the USGS are widely available.
Pesticides in small volume plasma samples: Method development and application to smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Neonicotinoid sunflower seed treatment, while not detected in pollen and nectar, still impacts wild bees and crop yield
Multiresidue extraction of current-use pesticides from complex solid matrices using energized dispersive guided extraction with analysis by gas and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy
Watershed-scale risk to aquatic organisms from complex chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River
Juvenile African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) express growth, metamorphosis, mortality, gene expression, and metabolic changes when exposed to thiamethoxam and clothianidin
The silence of the clams: Forestry registered pesticides as multiple stressors on soft-shell clams
Impacts of neonicotinoid seed treatments on the wild bee community in agricultural field margins
Assessing the ecological functionality and integrity of natural ponds, excavated ponds and stormwater basins for conserving amphibian diversity
Evaluation of ELISA for the analysis of imidacloprid in biological matrices: Cross-reactivities, matrix interferences, and comparison to LC-MS/MS
Cyprosulfamide: Analysis of the herbicide safener and two of its degradates in surface water and groundwater from the Midwestern United States
Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA
Cross-ecosystem fluxes of pesticides from prairie wetlands mediated by aquatic insect emergence: Implications for terrestrial insectivores
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Below are partners associated with this project.