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The increasing global reliance on pesticides for agricultural pest control has raised significant environmental concerns, particularly due to inadequate monitoring of emerging chemicals in surface waters. This study addresses the potential contamination of aquatic ecosystems by developing and validating a method for detecting trace amounts of four recently registered fungicides: three succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (fluopyram, penthiopyrad, pydiflumetofen) and fluopicolide, a structurally related fungicide. Employing QuEChERS-based sample extraction combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC-MS-MS), this method achieves detection limits of 0.1 to 0.2 μg/L, with recovery rates between 90% and 110%, and intra-day relative standard deviation values well within the acceptable range of less than 20%. Applied to surface grab water samples from the greater Melbourne area, Australia, the method successfully identified all four fungicides at trace levels, including a notable high concentration of fluopyram (7.3 μg/L) during autumn, with the others intermittently detected at lower concentrations. This study represents the first documented instance of quantifiable detections of these four fungicides in Australian surface water systems. Given their high toxicity to several organisms and the limited global data on these substances, our findings underscore the critical need for continuous monitoring to inform strategies to safeguard aquatic ecosystems from these chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing worldwide recognition of the threat posed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to wildlife populations. We aimed to measure exposure levels to POPs in a Southern Hemisphere aquatic waterbird species, the nomadic gray teal (Anas gracilis), which is found across Australia. We collected wings from 39 ducks harvested by recreational hunters at two sites (one coastal, one inland) in Victoria, southeastern Australia, in 2021. We examined three groups of POPs: nine congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 13 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs were detected at quantifiable levels in 13%, 72%, and 100% of birds, respectively. Of the congeners we tested for in PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs, 33%, 38%, and 100% were detected at quantifiable levels, respectively. The highest levels of exposure to POPs that we found were to the PAH benzo[b]fluoranthene, occurring at a concentration range of 1.78 to 161.05 ng/g wet weight. There were some trends detected relating to differences between geographical sites, with higher levels of several PAHs at the coastal versus inland site. There were several strong, positive associations among PAHs found. We discuss potential sources for the POPs detected, including industrial and agricultural sources, and the likely role of large‐scale forest fires in PAH levels. Our results confirm that while Australian waterbirds are exposed to a variety of POPs, exposure levels are currently relatively low. Additional future investigations are required to further characterize POPs within Australian waterbird species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:736–747. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few decades, biomonitors especially live mussels (LM) have been commonly used to monitor heavy metals in aquatic systems worldwide. This study examined the feasibility of replacing the use of live biomonitors with artificial mussels (AM) in monitoring heavy metals. Laboratory experiments were conducted to compare metal accumulation in the freshwater mussel, Velesunio ambiguus (live mussels or LM) with that of AM exposed to varying concentrations of copper, lead and zinc over a 28-day period. Furthermore, field studies were carried out to compare metal accumulation in V. ambiguous at three sites with a range of different levels of metal contamination in regional Victorian waterways, Australia. Our results showed that LM showed preferential uptake of metal, whereas AM showed no preference in the accumulation of heavy metals. Artificial mussels are a reliable tool for assessing risks posed by heavy metals in waterways (fresh, brackish or marine) since the accumulation of heavy metals in AM is not affected by biotic and abiotic factors. We concluded that AM can be an effective and excellent replacement for live biomonitors such as native mussels in monitoring heavy metals in freshwater systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]