Neonicotinoids are one of the most widely used classes of insecticides in the world. The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is commonly applied to hemlock (Tsuga spp.) stands in eastern North America to reduce tree mortality from infestations of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae). While laboratory and mesocosm studies have determined that imidacloprid can bioaccumulate in anurans and cause sublethal effects, no field studies have investigated whether salamanders or insects in streams adjacent to HWA treatments bioaccumulate imidacloprid or if sublethal effects are detectable in wild salamanders. We assessed relationships between imidacloprid exposure and stream salamander health in West Virginia, USA, using concentration of the stress hormone corticosterone and body condition indices (BCI) as response variables. Of 107 Desmognathus salamanders from 11 sites tested for bioaccumulation, we detected imidacloprid in 47 salamanders. Of 15 benthic macroinvertebrate samples tested, we detected imidacloprid, imidacloprid-urea, and imidacloprid-olefin in 15, 13, and 1 sample, respectively. Based on 115 Desmognathus salamanders sampled at 11 sites for stress hormone responses, corticosterone concentration increased with imidacloprid concentration in stream water. For 802 salamanders sampled at 48 sites, BCI decreased as concentration of imidacloprid in stream water increased, but explanatory power was low. Our study suggests that chronic leaching of imidacloprid from treated hemlock stands into adjacent streams has the potential to negatively affect aquatic organisms and may provide a route of exposure to higher trophic levels.

新烟碱是世界上使用最广泛的杀虫剂之一。新烟碱类吡虫啉通常用于北美东部的铁杉（Tsuga spp。）林分，以减少因入侵性铁杉羊毛adelgid（HWA; Adelges tsugae）侵染而造成的树木死亡率。）。尽管实验室和中观宇宙生物研究确定吡虫啉可以在紫罗兰中生物积累并引起亚致死作用，但尚无现场研究调查sal和昆虫在HWA处理附近的河流中是否会生物积累吡虫啉或在野生sal中是否可检测到亚致死作用。我们使用应激激素皮质酮的浓度和身体状况指数（BCI）作为反应变量，评估了美国西弗吉尼亚州吡虫啉暴露与河流stream健康之间的关系。地名107来自11个地点的进行了生物蓄积测试，我们在47个sal中检测到吡虫啉。在15个底栖大无脊椎动物样品中，我们分别在15、13和1个样品中检测到吡虫啉，吡虫啉-脲和吡虫啉-烯烃。根据在11个部位采样的115个地热s对应激激素的反应，皮质酮浓度随溪水中吡虫啉浓度的增加而增加。对于在48个地点采样的802 sal，BCI随溪水中吡虫啉的浓度增加而降低，但解释力很低。我们的研究表明，吡虫啉从处理过的铁杉林中长期浸出到相邻溪流中可能会对水生生物产生负面影响，并可能提供暴露于较高营养水平的途径。