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The warning came as a major ornithological conference in University College Cork (UCC) heard that the species decline has occurred despite the greatest conservation effort in Irish history. The threat is now so severe that, within the next 10 years, some of Ireland’s moved loved bird species may vanish from the island altogether. Some species have seen their numbers plummet by almost 80pc in 25 years. Species now under greatest threat include the Curlew (Numenius arquata), the Corncrake (Crex crex), Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and the Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella). Ireland has also witnessed a dramatic decline in the number of seabirds and migratory water fowl in Ireland.

The rats in a room at the University of Pittsburgh regularly get hit with doses of pesticide. But the researchers in J. Timothy Greenamyre’s lab don’t expose the rodents because of an infestation problem. They give the neurotoxin to the animals to learn more about Parkinson’s disease. After receiving a low daily dose of the pesticide rotenone for a week or two, rats in Greenamyre’s lab begin to lose mobility in ways similar to Parkinson’s patients. The rodents move at a glacial pace, they have trouble keeping their balance, and their limbs become impossibly stiff. Even the animals’ brains develop classic signs of the nervous system disorder: Nerve cells in a region called the substantia nigra accumulate clumps of the protein α-synuclein and die. It’s not unusual to use animal models such as these to probe the molecular causes of Parkinson’s, which affects 7 million to 10 million people worldwide, and to test treatments. But their use also raises a question: If a chemical gives lab rats Parkinson’s symptoms, might it do the same to humans exposed in the real world?

Speaking at the Vic No-Till annual conference in Ballarat last week, Dr Clapperton said: "It's bad for you, it's bad for the environment, it's bad for the soil - it's bad for everything. "But some times we need it, I get that. Our goal should be not to need it. "Insecticides are some of our most toxic substances - they kill all insects, beneficial and pests - and insects are probably more manageable than many of our other pests. "Now with our technology we can put things between rows properly and grow mixed covers, we have some opportunities to look at this more. We are starting to understand the different insects and how they interact." Dr Clapperton is a freelance scientist and farmer, proving her science in her own fields.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To report the occurrence of persistent respiratory disorders, including irritant-induced asthma, among adults living and working near an environmental spill of the pesticide, metam sodium, after the derailment of a tank car. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical case series. SETTING: California communities situated within one-half mile of the Sacramento River, from Mt. Shasta City to Shasta Lake. PATIENTS: 197 adults referred to a university occupational/environmental health clinic or to a private occupational/environmental health practitioner for evaluation of health problems potentially related to the spill. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: History, physical examination, review of medical records, spirometry, and methacholine challenge testing revealed 20 cases of persistent irritant-induced asthma and 10 cases of persistent exacerbation of asthma. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported series of cases of persistent irritant-induced asthma involving both community residents and occupationally exposed individuals.

Rusty blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) nest in the far, far north, all the way to the tree line. They build large nests in trees alongside beaver ponds, muskeg swamps, and other watery habitats. In the winter, the birds flock in bottomland wetland forests in the southeast, sometimes mingling with larger flocks of grackles and red-winged blackbirds, but sometimes keeping to themselves. Unfortunately, this species appears to be in free-fall. The available data show a 90% decline since the 1960s. The cause of these plummeting numbers is not fully understood. Changes in the availability of forests on either the summer or winter grounds could be part of the explanation. Northern forests are being increasingly logged and disturbed, and climate change is drying them out and causing more frequent fire. Acid rain and mercury are also significant problems in the north. Here in the south, hardwood forests are cleared for agriculture, housing, and pine plantations. But neither of these habitat trends seems severe enough to account for the decline. Some as yet unknown form of contamination or disease might be involved. Or the decline might be rooted in the supply of the rusty blackbirds’ favorite foods, grasshoppers and other insects.

Florida’s birdlife is some of the most captivating and well-recognized in the country, from impossibly pink Roseate Spoonbills to the raucous gulls and terns of our sandy beaches. At the start of the 20th century, many Florida bird species were in steep decline because of exploitation for the millinery trade. Their bright, ornate feathers were highly prized as decoration for women’s hats. Most of these bird populations rebounded after the federal government banned this practice , yet today many of these birds are again threatened and decreasing. They face pressures on where they live and competition for the food they eat. Habitat loss is often the emphasis of bird conservation efforts, but comprehensive conservation of any species must consider all its vulnerabilities. Forage fish—sometimes known as baitfish or prey fish—play a vital role in the marine ecosystem as a food source for coastal birds and other marine wildlife. These small, nutrient-rich fish are the crucial link between plankton and predators in the ocean food webs. The schooling behavior and relative abundance of forage fish make them ideal prey for much larger coastal predators such as Terns, Pelicans, and Ospreys, as well as their ocean counterparts such as tarpon, snook, and dolphins. In this report, we investigate an area of growing concern for these birds: how declines in populations of forage fish in Florida’s coastal waters could exacerbate declines of seabirds, wading birds, and other fish-eating birds, particularly species of conservation concern such as Least Terns (Sternula antillarum, formerly Sterna antillarum) and Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger)

In exchange for the billions of euros paid annually in taxes, Europeans were promised a green and more sustainable CAP reform. But now the reform is over and greener and more sustainable farming is unlikely to take form because exemptions from green measures have become the rule rather than the exception. Even worse, in some countries this so called “green” reform will constitute a step backwards on previous environmental achievements through disproportionate cuts to the much greener Rural Development Fund and a decrease in environmental requirements.

Research findings on Pesticides are discussed in a new report. According to news reporting from Talence, France, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "Contamination of water sources by pesticides is one of the most critical environmental problems. The present work is designed to address the occurrence of 67 pesticides in the Lebanese waters." The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Bordeaux, "Chemical analysis was performed by a solid-phase extraction followed by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using programmed temperature vaporization injection. In drinking water and groundwater samples, organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides were frequently detected with a maximal sum concentration of up to 31.8 ng L-1." According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "High pesticide ecotoxicological risk was noticed in many surface waters, while this risk was driven mainly by diazinon, chlorpyrifos, fenpropathrin and bifenthrin insecticides."

The full ramifications of the changes will not be known for some time, the annual general meeting of the Action for the River Kennet (ARK) conservation group heard. The meeting took place in the Hungerford Corn Exchange on Thursday, November 7. More than 60 ARK members heard that the pollution incident continued to cause major environmental changes. The pollution was first discovered on July 1 by ARK volunteer riverfly monitors. Subsequent investigations by the Environment Agency (EA) revealed the culprit was a lethal insecticide identified as chlorpyrifos. As little as a few teaspoonsful are thought to have entered the watercourse from a water treatment works in Marlborough, Wiltshire, leading to a 15km stretch of water down to Hungerford being affected. The River Kennet is of England’s finest chalkstreams. The incident is one of the largest ever and wiped out insect life – a major source of food for fish and other wildlife – in around a third of the river. The meeting heard that brown trout and other fish in the river appear ill-equipped for winter following the disastrous chemical spill. ARK director Charlotte Hitchmough said the entire base of the food chain has been removed, causing fish to alter their diets. She added: “They are partly eating more terrestrial invertebrates, smaller fish and even small crayfish". Delegates heard that, while large fish appear to coping at the moment, smaller fish stocks have been greatly reduced. This, in turn, could have a knock-on effect as there are fewer small fish for the large fish to eat.