Application of Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis in Environmental Forensic and Strategic Management Avenue for Pesticide Residues

Unintended pesticide pollution in soil, crops, and adjacent environments has caused several issues for both pesticide users and consumers. For users, pesticides utilized should provide higher yield and lower persistence while considering both the environment and agricultural products. Most people are concerned that agricultural products expose humans to pesticides accumulating in vegetation. Thus, many countries have guidelines for assessing and managing pesticide pollution, for farming in diverse environments, as all life forms in soil are untargeted to these pesticides. The stable isotope approach has been a useful technique to find the source of organic matter in studies relating to aquatic ecology and environmental sciences since the 1980s. In this study, we discuss commonly used analytical methods using liquid and gas chromatography coupled with isotopic ratio mass spectrometry, as well as the advanced compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA). CSIA applications are discussed for tracing organic pollutants and understanding chemical reactions (mechanisms) in natural environments. It shows great applicability for the issues on unintended pesticide pollution in several environments with the progress history of isotope application in agricultural and environmental studies. We also suggest future study directions based on the forensic applications of stable isotope analysis to trace pesticides in the environment and crops.

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A perspective on the evolving role of stable isotope analysis and the emergence of cavity enhanced spectroscopy as a potent tool

Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry ◽

10.1039/d1ja00175b ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sanchi Maithani ◽

Abhijit Maity ◽

Manik Pradhan

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotopes ◽

Stable Isotope ◽

Stable Isotope Analysis ◽

Isotopic Ratio ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Geological Samples ◽

Vast Array

The investigation of stable isotopes finds applications in a vast array of fields. The measurement of isotopic ratio in natural environments such as oceans, atmosphere and geological samples assists in...

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A model-based assessment of the potential use of compound specific stable isotope analysis in river monitoring of diffuse pesticide pollution

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-10-8789-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 8789-8839

Author(s):

S. R. Lutz ◽

H. J. van Meerveld ◽

M. J. Waterloo ◽

H. P. Broers ◽

B. M. van Breukelen

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Stable Isotope Analysis ◽

Surface Runoff ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Isotope Ratios ◽

Strong Increase ◽

Extreme Rainfall Event ◽

Pesticide Application ◽

Pesticide Pollution ◽

Isotope Data

Abstract. Compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) has, in combination with model-assisted interpretation, proven a valuable approach to quantify the extent of organic contaminant degradation in groundwater systems. CSIA data may also provide insights into the origin and transformation of diffuse river pollutants such as pesticides and nitrate at the catchment scale. While CSIA methods for pesticides have increasingly become available, they have not yet been deployed to interpret isotope data of pesticides in surface water. We applied a coupled subsurface-surface reactive transport model (HydroGeoSphere) at the hillslope scale to investigate the usefulness of CSIA in the assessment of pesticide degradation. We simulated the transport and transformation of a pesticide in a hypothetical but realistic two-dimensional hillslope transect. The steady-state model results illustrate a strong increase of isotope ratios at the hillslope outlet, which resulted from degradation and long travel times through the hillslope during average hydrological conditions. In contrast, following an extreme rainfall event that induced overland flow, the simulated isotope ratios dropped to the values of soil water in the pesticide application area. These results suggest that CSIA can help to determine whether pesticides enter the stream via groundwater exfiltration or via surface runoff. Simulations with daily rainfall and evapotranspiration data and one pesticide application per year resulted in small seasonal variations of concentrations and isotope ratios at the hillslope outlet, which fell within the uncertainty range of current CSIA methods. This implies a good reliability of in-stream isotope data in the absence of transport via surface runoff or other fast transport routes, since the time of measurement appears to be of minor importance. The analysis of simulated isotope ratios also allowed quantifying the contribution of two different reaction pathways to the overall degradation, which gave further insight into transport routes in the modelled system. The simulations supported the use of the commonly applied Rayleigh equation for the interpretation of CSIA data, since this led to an underestimation of the real extent of degradation of less than 12% at the hillslope outlet. Overall, the model results emphasize the applicability and usefulness of CSIA in the assessment of diffuse river pollution.

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Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis of Amino Acid Labeling with Stable Isotope Nitrogen (15N) in Higher Plants

Chromatographia ◽

10.1007/s10337-016-3126-9 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 79 (17-18) ◽

pp. 1197-1205 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zhongyi Zhang ◽

Huayun Xiao ◽

Nengjian Zheng ◽

Xiaofei Gao ◽

RenGuo Zhu

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Stable Isotope ◽

Higher Plants ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Compound Specific Isotope Analysis ◽

Amino Acid Labeling

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Life history of a mule (c . 160 AD) from the Roman fort Biriciana/ Weißenburg (Upper Bavaria) as revealed by serial stable isotope analysis of dental tissues

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology ◽

10.1002/oa.1013 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 158-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

T. E. Berger ◽

J. Peters ◽

G. Grupe

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Stable Isotope ◽

Stable Isotope Analysis ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Dental Tissues ◽

History Of

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Multi-element (C, H, Cl, Br) stable isotope fractionation as a tool to investigate transformation processes for halogenated hydrocarbons

Environmental Science Processes & Impacts ◽

10.1039/c9em00498j ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 567-582

Author(s):

Ann Sullivan Ojeda ◽

Elizabeth Phillips ◽

Barbara Sherwood Lollar

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Isotope Fractionation ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Halogenated Hydrocarbons ◽

Halogenated Hydrocarbon ◽

Stable Isotope Fractionation ◽

Compound Specific Isotope Analysis ◽

Transformation Processes

A review that highlights the utility of multi-element compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) in halogenated hydrocarbon remediation.

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The Coarse-Pounded Corn People

The Powhatan Landscape ◽

10.5744/florida/9780813062860.003.0006 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Martin D. Gallivan ◽

Victor D. Thompson

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Late Woodland ◽

Skeletal Remains ◽

Spatial Practices ◽

Native Communities ◽

Late Woodland Period ◽

History Of ◽

Burial Grounds ◽

Chickahominy River

Chapter 5 focuses on archaeological investigations along the Chickahominy River and a history of residential settlements, subsistence practices, and burial grounds during the Middle to Late Woodland transition. In the sixth century A.D., Native communities living along the Chickahominy River began to bury the deceased in communal burial grounds (ossuaries) located in the drainage’s swampy interior. During the Late Woodland period, new places were established along the Chickahominy with the construction of dispersed farmsteads, burial grounds, and a palisaded compound. In this history of placemaking we see evidence of the spatial practices whereby forager-fishers became the Chickahominy. As is apparent from colonial accounts of the Chickahominy, the “coarse-pounded corn people,” a horticultural economy was a part of this ethnogenetic process. Bioarchaeological study of skeletal remains from the Chickahominy, including stable isotope analysis, provides a basis for considering the history of maize-based horticulture in the region.

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Use of flow cytometry and stable isotope analysis to determine phytoplankton uptake of wastewater derived ammonium in a nutrient-rich river

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-15-353-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 353-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Calla M. Schmidt ◽

Tamara E. C. Kraus ◽

Megan B. Young ◽

Carol Kendall

Keyword(s):

Flow Cytometry ◽

Stable Isotope ◽

Nutrient Management ◽

Isotopic Ratio ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Turnover Time ◽

Sacramento River ◽

Wwtp Effluent ◽

Field Samples

Abstract. Anthropogenic alteration of the form and concentration of nitrogen (N) in aquatic ecosystems is widespread. Understanding availability and uptake of different N sources at the base of aquatic food webs is critical to establishment of effective nutrient management programs. Stable isotopes of N (14N, 15N) are often used to trace the sources of N fueling aquatic primary production, but effective use of this approach requires obtaining a reliable isotopic ratio for phytoplankton. In this study, we tested the use of flow cytometry to isolate phytoplankton from bulk particulate organic matter (POM) in a portion of the Sacramento River, California, during river-scale nutrient manipulation experiments that involved halting wastewater discharges high in ammonium (NH4+). Field samples were collected using a Lagrangian approach, allowing us to measure changes in phytoplankton N source in the presence and absence of wastewater-derived NH4+. Comparison of δ15N-POM and δ15N-phytoplankton (δ15N-PHY) revealed that their δ15N values followed broadly similar trends. However, after 3 days of downstream travel in the presence of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, δ15N-POM and δ15N-PHY in the Sacramento River differed by as much as 7 ‰. Using a stable isotope mixing model approach, we estimated that in the presence of effluent between 40 and 90 % of phytoplankton N was derived from NH4+ after 3 days of downstream transport. An apparent gradual increase over time in the proportion of NH4+ in the phytoplankton N pool suggests that either very low phytoplankton growth rates resulted in an N turnover time that exceeded the travel time sampled during this study, or a portion of the phytoplankton community continued to access nitrate even in the presence of elevated NH4+ concentrations.

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Effects of preservation methods of muscle tissue from upper-trophic level reef fishes on stable isotope values (δ13C and δ15N)

10.7287/peerj.preprints.752v1 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher D. Stallings ◽

James A. Neslon ◽

Katherine L. Rozar ◽

Charles S. Adams ◽

Kara R. Wall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stable Isotope ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Muscle Tissue ◽

Stable Isotope Analysis ◽

Trophic Level ◽

Isotopic Ratio ◽

Isotope Analysis ◽

Reef Fishes ◽

Δ13c And Δ15n ◽

Preservation Methods

Research that uses stable isotope analysis often involves a delay between sample collection in the field and laboratory processing, therefore requiring preservation to prevent or reduce tissue degradation and associated isotopic compositions. Although there is a growing literature describing the effects of various preservation techniques, the results are often contextual, unpredictable and vary among taxa, suggesting the need to treat each species individually. We conducted a controlled experiment to test the effects of four preservation methods of muscle tissue from four species of upper trophic-level reef fish collected from the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Red Grouper Epinephelus morio, Gag Mycteroperca microlepis, Scamp Mycteroperca phenax, and Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus). We used a paired design to measure the effects on isotopic values for carbon and nitrogen after storage using ice, 95% ethanol, and sodium chloride (table salt), against that in a liquid nitrogen control. Mean offsets for both δ13C and δ15N values from controls were lowest for samples preserved on ice, intermediate for those preserved with salt, and highest with ethanol. Within species, both salt and ethanol significantly enriched the δ15N values in nearly all comparisons. Ethanol also had strong effects on the δ13C values in all three groupers. Conversely, for samples preserved on ice, we did not detect a significant offset in either isotopic ratio for any of the focal species. Previous studies have addressed preservation-induced offsets in isotope values using a mass balance correction that accounts for changes in the isotope value to that in the C/N ratio. We tested the application of standard mass balance corrections for isotope values that were significantly affected by the preservation methods and found generally poor agreement between corrected and control values. The poor performance by the correction may have been due to preferential loss of lighter isotopes and corresponding low levels of mass loss with a substantial change in the isotope value of the sample. Regardless of mechanism, it was evident that accounting for offsets caused by different preservation methods was not possible using the standard correction. Caution is warranted when interpreting the results from specimens stored in either ethanol or salt, especially when using those from multiple preservation techniques. We suggest the use of ice as the preferred preservation technique for muscle tissue when conducting stable isotope analysis as it is widely available, inexpensive, easy to transport and did not impart a significant offset in measured isotopic values. Our results provide additional evidence that preservation effects on stable isotope analysis can be highly contextual, thus requiring their effects to be measured and understood for each species and isotopic ratio of interest before addressing research questions.

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