Lisa Hunt

Graduate Student

Education

BS Cornell University - Agricultural and Biological Engineering

MS UC Berkeley - Environmental Engineering

Research Interests

Aquatic ecology, pesticide ecotoxicology, sustainable agriculture

Research Description

Pyrethroid insecticides are rapidly replacing organophosphate pesticides in many countries, due to their lower toxicity to humans and other organisms. However, recent studies indicate that pyrethroids tend to persist longer in sediments, and that concentrations measured in freshwater sediments may cause toxicity to sediment-dwelling invertebrates, an important component of aquatic food webs. The broader ecological impacts of these findings have not yet been quantified. Furthermore, there has been very little investigation of the ecological effects of pyrethroids in developing countries where they are widely used, in part because laboratory bioassays and analytical chemistry may be impractical or cost-prohibitive. Pyrethroid analysis is especially challenging because there is currently no standardized method that can detect concentrations at the levels that cause effects, and very few developing countries have laboratories capable of analyzing this class of pesticide.

I plan to test whether toxicity observed in in laboratory bioassays with Hyalella curvispina (a native amphipod commonly found in streams in agricultural areas of Argentina) can be correlated with in situ bioassay results and/or benthic community changes in streams in soy-producing regions in the Argentine Pampa. The results of this work would help determine whether the overall ecological impacts of pyrethroids are severe enough to warrant changes in their use, or implementation of management practices to control their transport to surface waters. The information gained could be used to better manage pesticide use to reduce detrimental environmental effects. This study will also advance and expand the practice of using bioassessment as a tool in evaluating pesticide impacts in developing countries, where chemical analysis and laboratory bioassays are often impractical.

Honors and Awards

Fulbright Grant Argentina - 2011

Graduate Research Fellowship Program - National Science Foundation - 2011

Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships For Graduate Environmental Study - Environmental Protection Agency - 2011 (declined)