Endangered Species and Water Quality:A Compelling Narrative for Improving

Water Quality

Scott A. Hecht, Ph.D.

Office of Protected Resources

National Marine Fisheries Service

National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

March 27th, 2017

NOAA’s Office of Protected Resources Endangered Species Pesticide Team

Ryan DeWitt Biologist (contractor)

Tony Hawkes Ecotoxicologist

Scott Hecht Ecotoxicologist

Thom Hooper Fisheries Biologist

Cathy Tortorici Division Chief

David Baldwin Research ZoologistCathy Laetz Research ZoologistNathaniel Scholz Program manager- Research ZoologistJulann Spromberg Ecotoxicologist - Population modelerJennifer McIntyre University of Washington, former PostDoc

NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Fish Health Program

Natural Resource Management and Targeted Science

Water Quality Topics

• Pesticides and Salmonids

• Pesticide Mixtures and Temperature

• Stormwater

• Endangered Species Act (ESA)

• Successes

Pesticides and Salmonids

Distribution of Threatened and Endangered Salmon

and Steelhead

Oncorhynchus keta

28 Evolutionarily Significant Units

Oncorhynchus nerka

Oncorhynchus mykiss

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

Oncorhynchus kisutch

Organophosphate Insecticides: Acute poisoning

Mode of toxic action:

-disrupt neurotransmission

-inhibit an enzyme, acetyl-cholinesterase (AChE),

-by binding to Nerve cells continue to fire

NEUROTOXICANTS

Fish lose equilibrium, swim in spiral or corkscrew pattern, have increased breathing, over react to stimuli, may have terminal tetany, flared pectoral fins and opercula, ending in death.

Critical Analyses for Pesticides

• Direct and indirect effects

• Small streams and flood plain habitats

• Evaluation of mixture toxicity

• Evaluation of multiple stressors (temperature)

• Model population level consequences from lethal and sublethal effects

• Habitat related impacts

Pesticide Mixtures and Temperature

Pesticides from urban and agricultural lands are detected in

salmonid habitats throughout the Pacific Northwest and

California frequently occurring in surface waters with

elevated temperature.

Gilliom, RJ. 2007. Pesticides in U.S. Streams and Groundwater.

Environmental Science and Technology 41(10), 3409-3414.

Pesticides Typically Found as Complex MixturesAgricultural streams had

3 or more pesticides 90%

of the time.

Urban streams had

9 or more pesticides

25% of the time

Credit C. Laetz

Ventura County 2014: Use of copper and three

organophosphate insecticides

Pesticide Pounds

applied

Treatment

areas

Amount

treated

(acres)

Copper 15 oranges 8

Copper

ethanolamine

complexes

788

590

landscape

maintenance;

water areas

141

Copper

hydroxide

11,177 crops >12,000

Copper

Octanoate

954 crops;

nurseries

>900

Copper oxide 867 crops >500

Copper

oxychloride

254 crops >1500

Copper sulfates

(basic/

pentahydrate)

8500 crops;

landscape

maintenance

>350

TOTALS 23,145 >15400

Diazinon 1496 crops >700

Chlorpyrifos >35,000 crops >17,500

Malathion >25,600 crops >14150

Total of 3 OPs 62,000

CA DPR Pesticide Use Reporting Database; March 23, 2017

Mixture Toxicity is a Concern for Salmonid Health

Cn Ma Ca Co Da

Cn

Ma

Ca

Co

Da

AC

hE

inh

ibit

ion

carbofuran

diazinon

chlorpyrifos

malathion

carbaryl

Hypothetical health/behavior effect threshold

exposure to single pesticides exposure to mixtures

synergismadditivity

Credit C. Laetz

100% mortality (M)

Mixtures of OP Pesticides are

Additive or Synergistic

Mixtures of OP pesticides were

lethal at concentrations that were

sublethal when applied singly.

Laetz et al., 2009. Environmental Health Perspectives 117(3),

348-353.

Credit C. Laetz

What effect will climate change (a predicted 3.3 to 9.7 °F rise in temperature) and the predicted rise in local stream temperatures have on contaminant toxicity?

Seasonal Temperature Stress is a

Concern in Agricultural and Urban Habitats

Sulphur Creek Waterway

WA State Dept of Ecology

Beechie et al, 2013 River Res. Applic. 29 939-960

Juvenile Coho lethal threshold = 23 °C

higher temperatures

increase toxicity

lower temperatures

protective?

Elevated Temperature Increases the Toxicity of

Pesticide Mixtures at Low Concentrations

diazinon 1.3 μg/L

malathion 0.7 μg/L

ethoprop 0.9 μg/L

malathion 0.7 μg/L

Credit C. LaetzCredit C. Laetz

Take Home Message: Pesticide Mixtures and Temperature

Mixtures of neurotoxic pesticides are common in fresh waters that provide habitat for threatened salmon species.

Modest elevations in temperature enhanced the toxicity of pesticide mixtures at parts-per-trillion concentrations.

Stormwater Runoff

Toxics in StormwaterEvery day, pollution spilled onto the ground or deposited from the air pours from 10,000 lakes and streams into Puget Sound. During heavy rains, water rushing across roads, parking lots, building roofs and gardens picks up far more pollution that winds up in the Sound. Here's a look at some of those toxic chemicals and how they can affect marine life.

A. RAYMOND/THE SEATTLE TIMES

Source: Department of Ecology; Northwest Fisheries Science Center; U.S. Geological Survey; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry;National Marine Fisheries Service Auke Bay Laboratory.

PAHs

PAHs are attracted to fish

embryos like magnets. Even

tiny doses can change the

shape of a developing fish's

heart, causing the fish to be

too slow to escape predators.

Olfactory

nerveOlfactory

rosette

PBDEs/PCBs

These chemicals build up over time, especially in

fatty fish like chinook — the preferred food for

orcas. They can make marine life more susceptible

to disease. May be harmful to children of pregnant

women who eat contaminated fish.

Copper

Found in vehicle

brake pads and some

boat-hull paint.

PAHs

A suite of chemicals

created by burning and

released by creosote

pilings, oil spills, vehicle

exhaust, forest fires,

volcanoes.

PCBs

Banned but

long-lived organic

chemicals found in

transformers, plastics,

insulation, adhesives,

paint.

PBDEs

Flame retardants found in

sofa cushions, computers,

wire insulation, drapes.

Copper

Brief doses can alter how baby

fish smell, which is key to eluding

predators. It can also affect how

fish sense water movements when

predators approach.

Copper Is Toxic to Fish Sensory Neurons (Olfactory and Lateral Line Receptors)

copper- exposed

unexposed

Credit N. Scholz

Schreckstoff = alarm cue in fish skin

Salmonid alarm response = freezing

released by mechanical damage

Mik

e M

azu

r

Copper Impairs Ecologically Important Behaviors

Credit J. McIntyre

Copper-Exposed Coho Fail to Respond to a Chemical Predation Cue

No copper

Copper

Freeze

No freeze

Credit N. Scholz

2. Time to Attack, Capture

Prey acclimation (15 min)

Add skin extract

Lift prey chamber

Release predators

Prey exposure (3h)

Predator acclimation (1 hr)

Predation Experimental Design

[copper]: 0, 5, 10, 20 μg/L

Predation

1. Prey Activity

22

Credit J. McIntyre

Copper Increases Predation Mortality

Copper-exposed coho prey are significantly more visible and vulnerable to attack and capture by cutthroat trout predators

LT50

(50% Survival Time)

p<0.001

5 μg/L

10 μg/L

20 μg/L

Control

Copper

LT

50

(s)

23

“The purposes... are to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species,…

Section 2(b) of the Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act of 1973

Section 7 requires U.S. Federal agencies to:• consult with U.S. FWS or NOAA

• insure that

• any action they authorize, fund, or carry out

• is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat

• use the best scientific and commercial data available

The Endangered Species Act of 1973

Scope: All threatened and endangered species

listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Action: EPA’s authorization of Pesticide labels for a

given active ingredient (all labels and

authorized uses)

Approach: Integrate ecological risk assessment

methods into Section 7 consultation process

Goal: Use pilot consultations to construct a

programmatic approach that works for all

pesticides and species

National Pesticide Consultations with Threatened and Endangered Species

EPA’s Federal Action: Pesticide Registration

“Authorization for use or uses described in labeling of a pesticide product containing a particular pesticide active ingredient.”

Definition reached at NMFS-USFWS-USEPA meeting 12/12/2007

Examples of Completed Biological Opinions on Pacific Salmonids

Pesticide Jeopardy to species?

Use Completed

propargite Jeopardy: 21 of 28 species

acaricide 1/7/2015

Fenbutatin-oxide Jeopardy: 21 of 28 species

insecticide 1/7/2015

Diflubenzuron Jeopardy: 23 of 28 species

insecticide/ fungicide

1/7/2015

Thiobencarb No jeopardy:3 of 3 species

herbicide 6/30/2012

Oryzalin Jeopardy 10 of 28 species

herbicide 5/31/2012

Pendimethalin Jeopardy 16of 28 species

herbicide 5/31/2012

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/consultation/pesticides.htm

Successes in Improving Water Quality in Salmonid Habitats

Extensive Resource Management

and Legislative Engagement

Credit N. Scholz

Numbers on Copper Reductions

California and Washington already

passed requirements to reduce these

materials in brake pads. Prior to these

requirements, fine dust from

vehicular braking released an

estimated 1.3 million pounds of

copper into California’s environment

in 2010 and about 250,000 pounds

into Washington’s environment in

2011. Estimates for California show as

much as a 61 percent reduction of

copper in urban runoff due to changes in

brake pad composition.

California passes legislation, after which EPA reaches a national agreement

Credit N. Scholz

Bioretention: Can filtration of urban runoff reduce coho pre-spawn mortality?

2” mulch

24” bioretention soil media (60% sand : 40% compost)

12” drainage layer (gravel aggregate)

underdrain

cap slotted 2” PVC bulkhead 2” ball valve

Treatment Rate = 3 mm/min

Washington State Department of Ecology Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual 2012

Credit J. Spromberg

Riparian Areas Improve Water Quality

Riparian areas benefit salmonid habitats by:

• Reducing pesticide contamination, sediment, and nutrients;

• Improving floodplain habitat function by reducing stream temperatures and providing sources of large wood, reducing sedimentation/erosion

Vision: Establish and maintain riparian areas to reduce pesticide contamination and support high functioning floodplain habitats, thereby creating resilient populations of healthy salmonids.

Execution: Work with EPA, NRCS, Tribes, and other entities to recognize successful efforts at restoring riparian habitats and implement NOAA pesticide biological opinions.

Thank You

Julann Spromberg, Cathy Laetz, Thom Hooper, Tony Hawkes, Scott Hecht, David Baldwin

Ryan DeWitt

Nat Scholz, Jennifer McIntyre, David Baldwin

Contact Information

Scott A. Hecht, Ph.D.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service

Office of Protected Resources

Scott.Hecht@noaa.gov

Copper and Stormwater Sources• McIntyre, J.K., Edmunds, R.C., Mudrock, E., Brown, M., Davis, J.W., Stark, J.D., Incardona, J.P. and Scholz, N.L. 2016.

Confirmation of stormwater bioretention treatment effectiveness using molecular indicators of cardiovascular toxicity in developing fish. Environmental Science and Technology, 50:1561-1569

• McIntyre, J.K., Anulacion, B.F., Davis, J.W., Edmunds, R.C., Incardona, J.P., Stark, J.D., and Scholz, N.L. 2016. Severe coal tar sealcoat runoff toxicity to fish is reversed by bioretention filtration. Environmental Science and Technology, 50:1570-1578.

• Spromberg, J.A., Baldwin, D.H., Damm, S.E., McIntyre, J.K., Huff, M., Davis, J.W., and Scholz, N.L. 2016. Widespread adult coho salmon spawner mortality in western U.S. urban watersheds: lethal impacts of stormwater runoff are reversed by soil bioinfiltration. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53: 398-407.

• McIntyre, J. K., J. W. Davis, R. C. Edmunds, J. Incardona, N. L. Scholz, J. Stark. 2015. Soil bioretention protects juvenile salmon and their prey from the toxic impacts of urban stormwater runoff. Chemosphere, 132:213-219.

• McIntyre, J.K., Davis, J.W., Incardona, J.P., Stark, J.D., and Scholz, N.L. 2014. Zebrafish and clean water technology: assessing the protective effects of bioinfiltration as a treatment for toxic urban runoff. Science of the Total Environment, 500-501:173-180.

• McIntyre, J. K., D. H. Baldwin, D. A. Beauchamp, N. L. Scholz. 2012. Low-level copper exposures increase visibility and vulnerability of juvenile coho salmon to cutthroat trout predators. Ecological Applications, 22:1460-1471.

• Scholz, N. L., M. S. Myers, S. G. McCarthy, J. S. Labenia, J. K. McIntyre, G. M. Ylitalo, L. D. Rhodes, C. A. Laetz, C. M. Stehr, B. L. French, B. McMillan, D. Wilson, L. Reed, K. D. Lynch, S. Damm, J. W. Davis, T. K. Collier. 2011. The next link will exit fromNWFSC web site Recurrent die-offs of adult coho salmon returning to spawn in Puget Sound lowland urban streams. PLoS ONE, 6(12):e28013.

• Linbo, T. L., D. H. Baldwin, J. K. McIntyre, N. L. Scholz. 2009. Effects of water hardness, alkalinity, and dissolved organiccarbon on the toxicity of copper to the lateral line of developing fish. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 28:1455-1461.

• Hecht, S. A., D. H. Baldwin, C. A. Mebane, T. Hawkes, S. J. Gross, N. L. Scholz. 2007. An overview of sensory effects on juvenile salmonids exposed to dissolved copper: Applying a benchmark concentration approach to evaluate sublethal neurobehavioral toxicity. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo., NMFS-NWFSC-83, 39 p.

• Sandahl, J. F., D. H. Baldwin, J. J. Jenkins, N. L. Scholz. 2007. A sensory system at the interface between urban stormwater runnoff and salmon survival. Environmental Science & Technology, 41(8):2998-3004.

• Linbo, T. L., C. M. Stehr, J. Incardona, N. L. Scholz. 2006. Dissolved copper triggers cell death in the peripheral mechanosensory system of larval fish. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 25(2):597-603.

Sources: Pesticides, Mixture Toxicity, Temperature

• Scholz, N.L., Truelove, N.K., Labenia, J.S., Baldwin, D.H., and Collier, T.K. (2006). Dose-additive inhibition of chinook salmonacetylcholinesterase activity by mixtures of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 25:1200-1207.

• Laetz, C.A., Baldwin, D.H., Collier, T.K., Herbert, V., Stark, J., and Scholz, N.L. (2009). The synergistic toxicity of pesticide mixtures: implications for ecological risk assessment and the conservation of threatened Pacific salmon. Environmental Health Perspectives, 117:348-353. (Feature Article)

• Laetz, C.A., Baldwin, D.H., Hebert, V.R., Stark, J.D., and Scholz, N.L. (2013). The interactive neurobehavioral toxicity of diazinon, malathion, and ethoprop to juvenile coho salmon. Environmental Science and Technology, 47:2925-2931

• Laetz, C.A., Hecht, S.A., Incardona, J.P., Collier, T.K., and Scholz, N.L. (2015). Ecological risk of mixtures. In: Aquatic ecotoxicology: advancing tools for dealing with emerging risks. C. Amiard-Triquet, J.-C. Amiard, and C. Mouneyrac (eds). Academic Press, pp. 441-462.

• Laetz, C.A., Baldwin, D.H., Hebert, V.R., Stark, J.D., and Scholz, N.L. (2014). Elevated temperatures increase the toxicity of pesticide mixtures to juvenile coho salmon. Aquatic Toxicology, 146:38-44.

• Macneale, K.H., Kiffney, P.M., and Scholz, N.L. (2010). Pesticides, aquatic food webs, and the conservation of Pacific salmonids. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9:475-482.

• Macneale, K.H., Spromberg, J.A., Baldwin, D.H., and Scholz, N.L. (2014). A modeled comparison of direct and food web-mediated impacts of common pesticides on Pacific salmon. Public Library of Science ONE, 9: e92436.

Sources ContinuedPesticides:

• NOAA ESA website on national pesticide consultations http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/consultation/pesticides.htm

• Sandahl, J.F., Baldwin, D.H., Jenkins, J.J., and Scholz, N.L. (2004). Odor-evoked field potentials as indicators of sublethalneurotoxicity in juvenile coho salmon exposed to copper, chlorpyrifos, or esfenvalerate. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 61:404-413.

• Stehr, C.M., Linbo, T.L., Incardona, J.P., and Scholz, N.L. (2006). The insecticide fipronil causes notochord degeneration and locomotor defects in zebrafish during early development. Toxicological Sciences, 92:270-278.

• Scholz, N.L. and Hopkins, W.A. (2006). The ecotoxicology of anticholinesterase pesticides: data gaps and research challenges. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 25:1185-1186.

• Stehr, C.M., Linbo, T.L. Scholz, N.L., and Incardona, J.P. (2009). Evaluating effects of forestry herbicides on fish development using zebrafish rapid phenotypic screens. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 29:975-984.

• Weston, D.P., Asbell, A.M., Hecht, S.A., Scholz, N.L., and Lydy, M.J. (2011). Pyrethroid insecticides in urban salmon streams of the Pacific Northwest. Environmental Pollution, 159:3051-3056.

• Jorgenson, B., Brown, L., Fleishman, E., Macneale, K.H., Schlenk, D., Scholz, N.L., Spromberg, J.A., Werner, I., Weston, D., Young, T.M., Zhang, M., and Zhao, Q. (2013). Predicted transport of pyrethroid insecticides from an urban landscape to surface water. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 32:2469-2477.

• Scholz, N.L. and McIntyre, J.K. (2015). Chemical pollution. In: Conservation of freshwater fishes. G.P. Closs, M. Krkosek, and J.D. Olden (eds.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 149-178.

• Sandahl, J.F., Baldwin, D.H., Jenkins, J.J., and Scholz, N.L. (2005). Comparative thresholds for acetylcholinesterase inhibition and behavioral impairment in coho salmon exposed to chlorpyrifos. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 24:136-145.

• Labenia, J.S., Baldwin, D.H., French, B.L., Davis, J.W., and Scholz, N.L. (2007). Behavioral impairment and increased predation mortality in cutthroat trout exposed to carbaryl. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 329:1-11. (Feature Article)

• Baldwin, D.H., Spromberg, J.A., Collier, T.K.,and Scholz, N.L. (2009). A fish of many scales: extrapolating sublethal pesticide exposures to the productivity of wild salmon populations. Ecological Applications, 19:2004-2015. (Feature Article)

• McIntyre, J.K., Baldwin, D.H., Beauchamp, D.A., and Scholz, N.L. (2012). Low-level copper exposures increase the visibility and vulnerability of juvenile coho salmon to cutthroat trout predators. Ecological Applications, 22:1460-1471.

Sources: Riparian Areas

Conservation Buffers to Reduce Pesticide Losses. 2000. USDA-NRCS, National Water and Climate Center, and the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs. http://www.in.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/agronomy/newconbuf.pdf

USDA-NRCS. Buffer Strips: Common Sense Conservation. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/features/?&cid=nrcs143_023568

Bentrup, G. 2008. Conservation Buffers – Design Guidelines for Buffers, Corridors, and Greenways. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-109. Asheville, NC: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 110 p. http://www.unl.edu/nac/bufferguidelines/docs/conservation_buffers.pdf