English

English

California Department of Pesticide Regulation Reevaluates Nitroguanidine Insecticide Class of Neonicotinoids

California regulations require the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to investigate reports of possible adverse effects to people or the environment resulting from the use of pesticides. If a significant adverse impact occurred or is likely to occur, the regulations require DPR to reevaluate the registration of the pesticide. In February of 2009, DPR placed certain pesticide products within the nitroguanidine insecticide class of neonicotinoids containing the active ingredients imidacloprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, and thiamethoxam into reevaluation. This reevaluation is based on an adverse effects disclosure regarding the active ingredient imidacloprid. The disclosure included twelve ornamental plant residue studies and two combination residue, honey, and bumble bee studies of imidacloprid use on a number of ornamental plants. DPR’s evaluation of the data noted two critical findings: (1) high levels of imidacloprid in leaves and in blossoms of treated plants, and (2) increases in residue levels over time. Data indicate that use of imidacloprid on an annual basis may be additive, in that significant residues from the previous use season appear to be available to the treated plant.

Sidamo lark will likely become the first known bird species to vanish from mainland Africa

The Sidamo Lark (Heteromirafra sidamoensis) is endemic to Ethiopia. Always a rare sight, the elusive bird may soon vanish from the prairie grasses of Ethiopia forever. Listed as Vulnerable since 2000 on the IUCN Red List, it was uplisted to Endangered in 2007, and then further to Critically Endangered in 2009. Its habitat already restricted to less than 100 square kilometers, the lark is rapidly losing territory as local residents, the Borana ethnic group, convert grassland into heavily grazed pasture. Unless the Borana are allowed to resume their nomadic ways, within the next few years the Sidamo lark will likely become the first known bird species to vanish from mainland Africa, researchers say.

The Florida Scrub-Jay is Declining at a Rate Dangerous to Its Survival

The population of the only bird that lives solely in Florida, the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), is declining at a rate that threatens its survival, according to a federal wildlife report. The report by Raoul Boughton and Reed Bowman at Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid, was the result of the first Florida scrub-jay survey on public and private conservation lands in nearly two decades. The Florida scrub-jay has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 1987 because the species' population has declined by about 90 percent since European settlement. An earlier survey showed Florida scrub-jays had already disappeared from 10 of the 39 Florida counties in which they had existed as recently as the 1980s, and the overall population had declined by 50 percent since the 1980s. The Florida Scrub-Jay was officially listed as a threatened state species by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 1975 and it was listed as a threatened federal species by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987.

Differences in susceptibility of five cladoceran species to two systemic insecticides

Differences in susceptibility of five cladocerans to the neonicotinoid imidacloprid and the phenyl-pyrazole fipronil, which have been dominantly used in rice fields of Japan in recent years, were examined based on short-term (48-h), semi-static acute immobilization exposure tests. Additionally, we compared the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) patterns of both insecticides between two sets of species: the five tested cladocerans and all other aquatic organisms tested so far, using data from the ECOTOX database of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

The “Revolving Door” between Regulatory Agencies and Industry: A Problem That Requires Reconceptualizing Objectivity

There is a “revolving door” between federal agencies and the industries regulated by them. Often, at the end of their industry tenure, key industry personnel seek employment in government regulatory entities and vice versa. The flow of workers between the two sectors could bring about good. Industry veterans might have specialized knowledge that could be useful to regulatory bodies and former government employees could help businesses become and remain compliant with regulations. But the “revolving door” also poses at least three ethical and policy challenges that have to do with public trust and fair representation. Attached is an article on the influence of Bayer Cropscience on Dutch policy makers (which appeared in the magazine "Vrij Nederland" on April 4, 2012).

Italian magistrate charges Managing Directors of Bayer and Syngenta with bee-killing over clothianidin

Prosecutor Guariniello has charged the managing directors of Bayer CropScience in Milan and Syngenta Crop Protection in Italy with the spreading of diseases (or mass-killing) of animals and plants, and thus posing a danger for the national economy. The penalty, if they are found guilty, ranges from one to five years in jail. The plant protection product which ended up in the crosshairs of the magistrate is called ‘Poncho’. It kills insects by blocking the transmission of nerve impulses. So they die. Bayer produces it, Syngenta sells it. Guariniello has collected reports from many beekeepers in the province of Turin and examined pathology analysis from bee post-mortems, which, after 24 hours show no traces of neonicotinoids. So they went further and "field testing" has confirmed the cause and effect relationship between the death of bees and this kind of insecticide.

Nicotine-like effects of neonicotinoids on rat cerebellar neurons

Imidacloprid (IMI) and acetamiprid (ACE) belong to the neonicotinoids, a new class pesticide, which are widely used in the world to protect crops from pest insects and domestic animals from flea. They act as agonists on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and their selective toxicities against insect are well established, while their precise effects on mammalian nAChRs remain to be elucidated. The objective of this study was to determine to what extent the neonicotinoids affect the nAChRs of rat cerebellar neurons, and compare their effects with nicotine by using in vitro excitatory Ca-influx assay. The results indicate the neonicotinoids as well as nicotine directly act on mammalian nAChRs and, therefore, may have various adverse effects on the human health, especially on the developmental brain.

India’s disappearing bird species

The list of threatened birds, a testimony to human culpability, exploitation and neglect, is increasing every year. Just to take India’s case there were seven critically endangered species in 2000. Their numbers went up to nine in 2001; they increased to 12 in 2008; 14 in 2010 and 15 in 2011, when the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps was added to the list. According to IUCN, critically endangered species are those facing extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future, and if nothing is done, the species might become extinct in 10 years, or in less than three generations (see http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/siteindex.htm for more details). Marginally less threatened, according to the IUCN criterion, are endangered species. There are 16 endangered bird species in India, including Lesser Florican Sypheotides indicus, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, Narcondam Hornbill Rhyticeros narcondami and Masked Finfoot Heliopais personata. Then there are vulnerable species: these face high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium term. Fifty-eight Indian birds fall in this category. The species that are at a lower risk are termed near threatened. These are species I consider “sick”. They are not likely to die soon, but need our care and support to survive. There are 68 such species in India based on existing information but a comprehensive assessment of Indian birds is quite likely to make the list longer.

Species richness of butterflies greater on organic farms

In this study, we examined whether organic farming affected populations of one group of insects of conservation interest, butterflies, on farmland. The abundance of butterflies on pairs of organically and conventionally managed farms was recorded over 3 years and a number of habitat and crop variables, likely to be related to butterfly abundance, were also measured. Organic farms attracted significantly more butterflies overall than conventional farms. Significantly more butterflies in both farming systems were recorded over the uncropped field margin than the crop edge. The difference in butterfly abundance between crop edge and field margin was relatively greater in conventional than organic systems. Species richness of butterflies tended to be greater on organic farms. Five species of butterfly were significantly more abundant on organic farms in at least 1 year, while no species was significantly more abundant on conventional farms. Increasing the extent of organic farming, or practices associated with it, could help to restore biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

Biodiversity and biological control

Agricultural intensity on the local field or farm scale and on the regional landscape scale affects the organisms utilizing the arable landscape, and may affect ecosystem services and functions. This thesis examines how plants, birds, community composition of ground beetles, and biological control of cereal aphids are affected by local agricultural intensity, organic farming and the surrounding landscape in Sweden and across Europe. The contribution of naturally occurring predator groups to the control of cereal aphid populations in complex and simple arable landscapes is also examined.