Comparison of the fate and toxicity of chlorpyrifos--laboratory versus a coastal mesocosm system

The widespread use of chlorpyrifos for pest control in urban and rural environments poses a risk of contamination to aquatic environments via runoff, spray drift or spillage. The aim of this study was to assess the fate of chlorpyrifos and its toxicity to common freshwater invertebrates in the laboratory and in stream mesocosms. Chlorpyrifos was rapidly lost from the test systems but the rates of loss varied considerably, such that losses in the mesocosms could not be reliably predicted from the static laboratory studies. This was likely due to the mass transport of chlorpyrifos from the mesocosm via stream flow. Chlorpyrifos was acutely toxic to all invertebrates tested with the cladoceran species (laboratory 48 h LC50 values 0.07–0.10 μg L−1) being most sensitive. Despite the differences in the dynamics of chlorpyrifos in the laboratory and mesocosm systems, the sensitivities of the mayfly Atalophlebia australis and the cladoceran Simocephalus vetulus were similar in the 2 systems.