Insecticides

Habitat loss and exposure to pesticides are likely primary factors contributing to amphibian decline in agricultural landscapes. We examined the presence of pesticides and nutrients in water and sediment as indicators of habitat quality and assessed the bioaccumulation of pesticides in the tissue of two native amphibian species Pseudacris maculata (chorus frogs) and Lithobates pipiens (leopard frogs) at six wetlands (3 restored and 3 reference) in Iowa, USA. Concentrations of the pesticides frequently detected in water and sediment samples were not different between wetland types.

Most regulatory agencies assume that there is no safe level of exposure to carcinogens but that a threshold, or “safe” exposure level exists for non-carcinogens. However, recent discoveries have cast serious doubt on the validity of this concept. Five examples of non-carcinogens without an apparent threshold (neonicotinoids, dioxin, dieldrin, endocrine disruptors, and sulfhydryl-reactive metals) are presented. It is also clear by now that the threshold model for non-carcinogens may seriously underestimate actual risk.

„Mit der neuen Roten Liste der Vögel ist eine umfassende Bestandsaufnahme über den Zustand der hessischen Vogelwelt erfolgt. Das ist wichtige Grundlage, um darauf aufbauend Maßnahmen zu ihrem Schutz ergreifen zu können“, sagte Umweltstaatssekretärin Dr. Beatrix Tappeser anlässlich der Veröffentlichung der neuen Roten Liste der bestandsgefährdeten Brutvogelarten Hessens, die vom Umweltministerium herausgegeben wird.

Als die amerikanische Biologin Rachel Carson vor mehr als 50 Jahren ihr Buch "Silent Spring" veröffentlichte, löste sie damit eine weltweite Bewegung gegen Pestizide wie das berüchtigte DDT aus. Damals standen viele Vogelarten kurz vor dem Aussterben, weil das Pflanzenschutzmittel ihre Eierschalen so dünnwandig machte, dass sie zerbrachen, wenn sich ein Vogel zum Brüten daraufsetzte. DDT wurde in vielen Ländern verboten, 1972 auch in Deutschland.

Experts have created a shortlist of environmental factors that may contribute to our risk of developing dementia, which affects 55,000 people in Ireland. The list includes exposure to air pollution and a lack of vitamin D - but researchers caution that the evidence is not yet sufficient to draw solid conclusions. It comes as the HSE today launches a new campaign 'Understand Together' aimed at inspiring people to stand together with the 500,000 whose lives have been touched by dementia.

Monarchs are going missing by the hundreds of millions. The butterflies are disappearing and habitat loss, pesticide use and extreme weather are being blamed. America's most recognizable butterfly is being considered for Endangered Species Status because the monarch is in danger of becoming "quasi-extinct." That means its numbers are dwindling so low there’s a possibility it may not be able to rebound. John Dromgoole, owner of The Natural Gardener, created an urban oasis to give the butterflies a way to survive their fall migration. "They've got food here. They've got habitat here.

Systemic neonicotinoid (neonic) exposure is associated with reductions in colony size and changes in foraging behavior, according to a recent field study done by a team of scientists at Imperial College London.

To investigate interactions among disease, pesticides, water quality, and adjacent land cover, we collected samples of water, sediment, and frog tissue from 21 sites in 7 States in the United States (US) representing a variety of amphibian habitats. All samples were analyzed for >90 pesticides and pesticide degradates, and water and frogs were screened for the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) using molecular methods. Pesticides and pesticide degradates were detected frequently in frog breeding habitats (water and sediment) as well as in frog tissue.

The prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) once numbered about 3 million across an area that stretches through eastern New Mexico, eastern Colorado, western Kansas, western Nebraska, northwest Oklahoma, and in parts of the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. Estimates show their population now at 30,000 to 40,000. In some places that used to be native range, estimates show a 97 percent decline. In many other former ranges, these birds are gone, probably never to return. Today, these birds currently occur in parts of only 10 states.