Neonicotinoids are a group of systemic insecticides with a broad range of uses across urban and agricultural settings. Due to their water solubility characteristics, the fate of much of the applied neonicotinoid products is the aquatic environment, where they can pose a threat to aquatic non-target species. Due to lack of regulatory guidelines, neonicotinoids are rarely included in environmental monitoring campaigns in Australia despite their widespread use, particularly QLD. As such, little is known about the presence and behaviour of neonicotinoids in Australia’s aquatic environments. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of neonicotinoid insecticides in source and receiving waters of Moreton Bay to assess their concentrations and risk to aquatic invertebrates.
Grab samples collected from 13 sites, and black tiger prawns purchased from a local prawn farm were analysed for 7 neonicotinoids using LC-MS/MS. The neonicotinoid Imidacloprid was most frequently detected at all sites in 83% of samples. Individual neonicotinoid water concentrations ranged from <LOQ (0.01 ng/L) to 9 ng/L. Neonicotinoid residues were not detected in prawn samples. In this talk, we interpret these values using proposed guideline values from the literature and species sensitivity distributions to discuss potential impacts on local invertebrates in the bay.