{"id":19697,"date":"2017-01-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=19697"},"modified":"2017-01-03T10:27:07","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T14:27:07","slug":"herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(<em>Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, January 3, 2017)\u00a0 A study published in December 2016 in <em>Environmental Contamination and Toxicology<\/em>, entitled\u00a0<em>The Effect of Atrazine on Louisiana Gulf Coast Estuarine Phytoplankton,<\/em> finds that phytoplankton in estuaries in close proximity to agricultural operations are less productive than phytoplankton in an uncontaminated environment. The study examines three different estuaries of the Mississippi river in Louisiana and also evaluates microcosms with different concentrations of atrazine.\u00a0Phytoplankton, incredibly important to estuary ecosystems and aquatic life, are an integral part of the aquatic food web and ultimately critical to the wild seafood market. As photosynthetic microorganisms, phytoplankton harness the sun\u2019s energy for metabolism and create as a byproduct of photosynthesis dissolved oxygen, which oxygen-breathing sea life require.<\/p>\n<p>For the study, the researchers created microcosms, or large containers that are able to closely mimic ecosystems, so that they can observe the effects of independent variables.\u00a0On average, phytoplankton in the microcosms are less productive at producing <em>chlorophyll a<\/em> in the presence of atrazine.\u00a0The microcosm study design is important because it is difficult to separate and measure the effects of chemicals like atrazine in the environment, given the range of potential causes of phytoplankton decline. A variety of factors, like freshwater discharge rates, precipitation, and seasonal changes, make it difficult to adequately measure the variables that affect phytoplankton populations.\u00a0The researchers call for a long-term study to gain a greater understanding of the scope of the atrazine contamination problem.\u00a0The ongoing concern of the researchers is driven by the fact that the herbicidal properties of atrazine could have similar effects on phytoplankton as it does on terrestrial plants, since they both rely on photosynthesis for metabolism.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-19731\" src=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" align=\"right\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-768x578.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/resources\/pesticide-gateway?pesticideid=7\">Atrazine<\/a>\u00a0is the second-most widely used pesticide in the United States, with over 73 million pounds applied to agricultural fields each year.\u00a0Once applied to farms, precipitation and other factors cause the chemical to runoff into surrounding streams and groundwater aquifers.\u00a0In 2012, water utilities settled a <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2013\/01\/funds-from-atrazine-class-action-lawsuit-distributed\/\">class action lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0against the manufacturer of atrazine, <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/08\/us-approves-chemchina-syngeta-merger-opens\/\">Syngenta<\/a>, to clean up atrazine contamination of its treated water.<\/p>\n<p>Even at levels established as \u201csafe\u201d or acceptable by EPA drinking water standards, atrazine is linked to endocrine-disrupting effects. EPA is not adequately assessing the effects of atrazine by using high dose testing models, which are not appropriate for hormonally-active substances that often show effects at minute doses of endocrine disruptors.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2010\/03\/more-research-links-atrazine-to-sexual-abnormalities-in-amphibians\/\"><strong>Studies by Tyrone Hayes, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/a>, University of California, Berkeley, \u00a0and others have shown that concentrations as little as 0.1ppb impact hormone function in organisms and turns tadpoles into hermaphrodites \u2014 organisms \u00a0with both male and female sexual characteristics. Research also finds that atrazine interferes with mammary gland development in the breast of mammals and is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2010\/02\/herbicide-atrazine-linked-to-rare-birth-defect\/\"><strong>linked to certain birth defects<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0like gastroschisis and choanal atresia, which are significantly increased for pregnant women with high levels of atrazine exposure in agricultural areas and from urban streams.\u00a0The European Union and many countries have banned atrazine, however EPA continues to put U.S. citizens and the environment in harm\u2019s way, allowing nonstop use of this toxic chemical.<\/p>\n<p>in April 2016, EPA\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2016\/06\/public-comment-needed-to-end-atrazine-use-after-epa-confirms-threat-to-wildlife\/\"><strong>released a draft ecological risk assessmen that finds atrazine poses unacceptable risks<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0to fish, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates, and even birds, reptiles and mammals. The assessments evaluated risks to animals and plants, including amphibians, birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, aquatic invertebrates, aquatic plant communities, and terrestrial plants. EPA concludes, \u201caquatic plant communities are impacted in many areas where atrazine use is heaviest, and there is potential chronic risks to fish, amphibians, and aquatic invertebrate in these same locations. In the terrestrial environment, there are risk concerns for mammals, birds, reptiles, plants and plant communities across the country for many of the atrazine uses.\u201d\u00a0<strong>Levels of concerns were exceeded by as much as 200-fold for some organisms<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>The phytoplankton study is another reminder that atrazine is proven to have an effect on aquatic ecosystems.\u00a0In July 2016, California\u2019s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced that atrazine, its chemical cousins propazine and simazine, and its breakdown triazine compounds would be added to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity for purposes of the state\u2019s Proposition 65.<\/p>\n<p>The evidence is clear. Atrazine harms wildlife, persists in soils, and moves easily through waterways. <strong>Take Action:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/action.beyondpesticides.org\/p\/dia\/action3\/common\/public\/?action_KEY=23595\"><strong>Sign the petition to urge EPA to end the use of atrazine.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0In order to protect human and ecological health, the agency should take immediate action to eliminate this chemical from our environment!<\/p>\n<p>Source:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00244-016-0335-z\">The Effect\u00a0of Atrazine of Effect of atrazine on Louisiana Gulf Coast Estuarine Phytoplankton<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Beyond Pesticides, January 3, 2017)\u00a0 A study published in December 2016 in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, entitled\u00a0The Effect of Atrazine on Louisiana Gulf Coast Estuarine Phytoplankton, finds that phytoplankton in estuaries in close proximity to agricultural operations are less productive than phytoplankton in an uncontaminated environment. The study examines three different estuaries of the Mississippi river in Louisiana and also evaluates microcosms with different concentrations of atrazine.\u00a0Phytoplankton, incredibly important to estuary ecosystems and aquatic life, are an integral part of the aquatic food web and ultimately critical to the wild seafood market. As photosynthetic microorganisms, phytoplankton harness the sun\u2019s energy for metabolism and create as a byproduct of photosynthesis dissolved oxygen, which oxygen-breathing sea life require. For the study, the researchers created microcosms, or large containers that are able to closely mimic ecosystems, so that they can observe the effects of independent variables.\u00a0On average, phytoplankton in the microcosms are less productive at producing chlorophyll a in the presence of atrazine.\u00a0The microcosm study design is important because it is difficult to separate and measure the effects of chemicals like atrazine in the environment, given the range of potential causes of phytoplankton decline. A variety of factors, like freshwater discharge rates, precipitation, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[249,2,124,72,21,312,354,7,39,10,343,93,19,324,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","category-alternativesorganics","category-announcements","category-atrazine","category-chemicals","category-contamination","category-environmental-protection-agency-epa","category-lawnslandscapes","category-louisiana","category-pesticide-regulation","category-pesticide-residues","category-pollinators","category-statelocal","category-water-regulation","category-wildlifeenvironment"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, January 3, 2017)\u00a0 A study published in December 2016 in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, entitled\u00a0The Effect of Atrazine on Louisiana Gulf Coast Estuarine Phytoplankton, finds that phytoplankton in estuaries in close proximity to agricultural operations are less productive than phytoplankton in an uncontaminated environment. The study examines three different estuaries of the Mississippi river in Louisiana and also evaluates microcosms with different concentrations of atrazine.\u00a0Phytoplankton, incredibly important to estuary ecosystems and aquatic life, are an integral part of the aquatic food web and ultimately critical to the wild seafood market. As photosynthetic microorganisms, phytoplankton harness the sun\u2019s energy for metabolism and create as a byproduct of photosynthesis dissolved oxygen, which oxygen-breathing sea life require. For the study, the researchers created microcosms, or large containers that are able to closely mimic ecosystems, so that they can observe the effects of independent variables.\u00a0On average, phytoplankton in the microcosms are less productive at producing chlorophyll a in the presence of atrazine.\u00a0The microcosm study design is important because it is difficult to separate and measure the effects of chemicals like atrazine in the environment, given the range of potential causes of phytoplankton decline. A variety of factors, like freshwater discharge rates, precipitation, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-03T04:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-03T14:27:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ByondPesticides\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beyond Pesticides\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\"},\"headline\":\"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-03T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-03T14:27:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\"},\"wordCount\":761,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Agriculture\",\"Alternatives\/Organics\",\"Announcements\",\"Atrazine\",\"Chemicals\",\"Contamination\",\"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\",\"Lawns\/Landscapes\",\"Louisiana\",\"Pesticide Regulation\",\"Pesticide Residues\",\"Pollinators\",\"State\/Local\",\"Water Regulation\",\"Wildlife\/Endangered Sp.\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\",\"name\":\"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-03T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-03T14:27:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\",\"description\":\"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2501,\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4\",\"name\":\"Beyond Pesticides\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beyond Pesticides\"},\"description\":\"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","og_description":"(Beyond Pesticides, January 3, 2017)\u00a0 A study published in December 2016 in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, entitled\u00a0The Effect of Atrazine on Louisiana Gulf Coast Estuarine Phytoplankton, finds that phytoplankton in estuaries in close proximity to agricultural operations are less productive than phytoplankton in an uncontaminated environment. The study examines three different estuaries of the Mississippi river in Louisiana and also evaluates microcosms with different concentrations of atrazine.\u00a0Phytoplankton, incredibly important to estuary ecosystems and aquatic life, are an integral part of the aquatic food web and ultimately critical to the wild seafood market. As photosynthetic microorganisms, phytoplankton harness the sun\u2019s energy for metabolism and create as a byproduct of photosynthesis dissolved oxygen, which oxygen-breathing sea life require. For the study, the researchers created microcosms, or large containers that are able to closely mimic ecosystems, so that they can observe the effects of independent variables.\u00a0On average, phytoplankton in the microcosms are less productive at producing chlorophyll a in the presence of atrazine.\u00a0The microcosm study design is important because it is difficult to separate and measure the effects of chemicals like atrazine in the environment, given the range of potential causes of phytoplankton decline. A variety of factors, like freshwater discharge rates, precipitation, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2017-01-03T04:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-03T14:27:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life","datePublished":"2017-01-03T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-03T14:27:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/"},"wordCount":761,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg","articleSection":["Agriculture","Alternatives\/Organics","Announcements","Atrazine","Chemicals","Contamination","Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)","Lawns\/Landscapes","Louisiana","Pesticide Regulation","Pesticide Residues","Pollinators","State\/Local","Water Regulation","Wildlife\/Endangered Sp."],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/","name":"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg","datePublished":"2017-01-03T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-03T14:27:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/deadfrog-300x226.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2017\/01\/herbicide-atrazine-affects-estuarine-phytoplankton-productivity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Herbicide Atrazine Affects Estuarine Phytoplankton Productivity, Threatens Aquatic Life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","description":"News on Pesticide Science, Policy and Activism","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization","name":"Beyond Pesticides","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/BeyondPesticides-Logo-Stacked-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2501,"caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4","name":"Beyond Pesticides","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e26b7558fcb265e244c6e159abe5f0aab551822dc82fd0b1607e809bdfbed20a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beyond Pesticides"},"description":"Beyond Pesticides is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., which works with allies in protecting public health and the environment to lead the transition to a world free of toxic pesticides. The founders, who established Beyond Pesticides (originally as National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides) as a nonprofit membership organization in 1981, felt that without the existence of such an organized, national network, local, state and national pesticide policy would become, under chemical industry pressure, increasingly unresponsive to public health and environmental concerns. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions that affect them directly. We believe decisions should not be made for us by chemical companies or by decision-makers who either do not have all of the facts or refuse to consider them. Learn more about our work, read A Year in Review\u20142021, our accomplishments are your victories! Beyond Pesticides seeks to protect healthy air, water, land, and food for ourselves and future generations. By forging ties with governments, nonprofits, and people who rely on these natural resources, we reduce the need for unnecessary pesticide use and protect public health and the environment. Beyond Pesticides provides hands-on services to the public and supports local action by: identifying and interpreting hazards; and, designing safe pest management programs. With the information provided by Beyond Pesticides, people may not only be able to make informed choices and adopt practices that protect themselves and their families from unnecessary exposure to pesticides, but they will be able to effect changes on community-wide pest management decisions and policies that govern pesticide use, such as pesticide uses in parks, schools, for community insect control and along roadsides. Beyond Pesticides believes that people must have a voice in decisions which affect them directly.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/beyondpesticides\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/beyond-pesticides\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ByondPesticides","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bpncamp\/"],"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/author\/beyond-pesticides\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19697"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19733,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19697\/revisions\/19733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}