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Periphyton responses to nutrient and atrazine mixtures introduced through agricultural runoff

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Abstract

Agricultural runoff often contains pollutants with antagonistic impacts. The individual influence of nutrients and atrazine on periphyton has been extensively studied, but their impact when introduced together and with multiple agricultural pollutants is less clear. We simulated a field-scale runoff pulse into a riverine wetland that mimicked pollutant composition typical of field runoff of the Mississippi River Alluvial Plain. Periphyton biomass and functional responses were measured for 2 weeks along a 500 m section. Additionally, laboratory chamber assays were used to identify potential periphyton changes due to nutrients, atrazine, and their interactions. Generally, nutrients stimulated, and atrazine reduced chlorophyll a (Chl a) in chambers. In the wetland, nutrient and atrazine relationships with periphyton were weaker, and when found, were often opposite of trends in chambers. Total nitrogen (TN) was inversely related to Chl a, and total phosphorus was inversely related to respiration (R) rates. Atrazine (10–20 μg L−1 in the wetland) had a positive relationship with ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and weakened the relationship between TN and AFDM. Wetland periphyton biomass was better correlated to total suspended solids than nutrients or atrazine. Periphyton function was resilient as periphyton gross primary production (GPP)/R ratios were not strongly impacted by runoff. However, whole-system GPP and R decreased over the 2-week period, suggesting that although periphyton metabolism recovered quickly, whole-system metabolism took longer to recover. The individual and combined impacts of nutrients and atrazine in complex pollutant mixtures can vary substantially from their influence when introduced separately, and non-linear impacts can occur with distance downstream of the pollutant introduction point.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Alexandra Ashmead, Lisa Brooks, Daniel Warren, and John Massey for field and laboratory assistance. Matt Moore and Traci Hudson provided insightful comments on this manuscript. This work was completed as part of the research program of the Water Quality and Ecology Research Unit of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Conflict of interest

All authors confirm that there are no conflicts of interests. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA-Agricultural Research Service, National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, MS, 38655, USA

    Justin N. Murdock, F. Douglas Shields Jr. & Richard E. Lizotte Jr.

  2. Department of Biology, Tennessee Technological University, PO Box 5063, Cookeville, TN, 38501, USA

    Justin N. Murdock

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  1. Justin N. Murdock
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  2. F. Douglas Shields Jr.
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Correspondence to Justin N. Murdock.

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Murdock, J.N., Shields, F.D. & Lizotte, R.E. Periphyton responses to nutrient and atrazine mixtures introduced through agricultural runoff. Ecotoxicology 22, 215–230 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-012-1018-9

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