Responses of freshwater macroinvertebrates to pesticides: insights from field studies

I reviewed field studies on the effects of pesticides on macroinvertebrates in freshwater ecosystems. Field studies were the key in establishing evidence that despite a complex pesticide regulation, effects of agricultural pesticide use (mainly insecticides and fungicides) on macroinvertebrates are widespread. Of 13 field studies in different regions of the world in the last 15 years, nine found a clear or likely relationship between pesticide toxicity or concentrations and biotic responses such as community composition or different indices. I discuss the problem of establishing causality based on field studies, the potential and limitations of using data from governmental monitoring programmes for assessing pesticide risks and effects and outline promising future research directions.