Agrochemical contamination poses risks to human, animal, and ecosystem health. The AltEn Ethanol plant in Mead, Nebraska, processed pesticide-treated seed products until 2020, leading to contamination of surrounding water and land. In 2021, researchers collected American Bullfrog tadpoles from surface water and songbird eggs from farmland/wetlands to assess agrochemical presence. Using advanced chromatography techniques, they detected neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, thiamethoxam) in 21.21% of samples, with concentrations ranging from 3.2 to 315.4 ng/g. Fungicide residues (including atrazine and its derivatives) were found in 32% of samples. Tadpole analysis revealed neonicotinoid detection in 12.4% of cases, with thiamethoxam reaching up to 8,908.8 ng/g, while fungicides were detected in 36.5%, with concentrations up to 116.2 ng/g. The highest pesticide levels were found near the AltEn facility and downstream sites. Results confirm that tadpoles and songbird eggs serve as effective wildlife sentinels for agrochemical exposure. The study expanded in 2022–2024 to analyze spatial and temporal contamination trends.

Speaker’s Bio:
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Applied Ecology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, School of Natural Resources. My research centers on One Health, an interdisciplinary approach connecting human, animal, and ecosystem health. With 20 years of experience as a research laboratory scientist in tropical infectious diseases, I now focus on ecosystem health, studying the impacts of agrochemicals on human and animal health in Nebraska.