English

The goal of this research was to investigate the effects of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid on the morphological and physiological development of northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Bobwhite eggs (n = 390) were injected with imidacloprid concentrations of 0 (sham), 10, 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg of egg mass, which was administered at day 0 (pre-incubation), 3, 6, 9, or 12 of growth. Embryos were dissected, weighed, staged, and examined for any overt structural deformities after 19 days of incubation. The mass of the embryonic heart, liver, lungs and kidneys was also recorded.

The occurrence of pesticides intended for non-agricultural use was investigated in 206 dust samples drawn from vacuum-cleaner bags from residential flats in Italy. The results indicated the presence of imidacloprid (IMI) in 30% of the samples. According to the estimated dust intake in infants/toddlers aged 6–24 months (16–100 mg d−1) and cats (200 mg d−1), it was possible to obtain risk characterization with respect to the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for IMI of 0.060 mg/kg body weight (bw) proposed by EFSA and the chronic Population Adjusted Dose (cPAD) of 0.019 mg/kg bw d−1 by US-EPA.

Imidacloprid (IMD) is the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide found on environmental surfaces and in water. Analysis of surface-bound IMD photolysis products was performed using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transfer infrared (ATR-FTIR) analysis, electrospray ionization (ESI-MS), direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS), and transmission FTIR for gas-phase products. Photolysis quantum yields (ϕ) for loss of IMD were determined to be (1.6 ± 0.6) × 10–3 (1s) at 305 nm and (8.5 ± 2.1) × 10–3 (1s) at 254 nm.

In this study, effects of two neonicotinoid insecticides, imidacloprid and dinotefuran, on aquatic insect assemblages were evaluated in experimental rice mesocosms. During the 5-month period of the rice-growing season, residual concentrations of imidacloprid were 5–10 times higher than those of dinotefuran in both soil and water. Imidacloprid treatment (10 kg/ha) reduced significantly the populations of, Crocothemis servilia mariannae and Lyriothemis pachygastra nymphs, whereas those of Orthetrum albistylum speciosum increased slightly throughout the experimental period.

South Otago Forest & Bird is staging a "yellow-eyed penguins in crisis" march in Balclutha next week. Members will be taking to the South Otago town's main street footpath on Thursday, to highlight the plight of the nationally endangered species. The rate of population decline in coastal Otago and the Catlins indicated the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) would disappear by 2060, or sooner, South Otago Forest & Bird chairman Roy Johnstone said.

Sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are iconic birds in the West — including in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. But their numbers in 11 states have dramatically declined with their loss of habitat. It’s difficult to know exact sage grouse population numbers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates somewhere between 200,000 to 500,000 sage grouse live across the range — a number conservation groups worry will now continue to decline.

Argentina is the birthplace of tango, an iconic dance style dating back to the 1880s. Long before the first tango steps were taken, however, another dance was already in full swing across parts of Patagonia: the hypnotic grooves of the hooded grebe (Podiceps gallardoi). That dance is still going on today, as you can see in "Tango in the Wind," a new documentary about hooded grebes. Yet despite their impressive moves, the hooded grebes' dance is increasingly in danger of disappearing.

It is hard to believe now, but red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)- the bird that is synonymous with heather moorland and the Glorious Twelfth of August - were once spotted in Leeds. It was after a severe January snowstorm back in the 1880s when, according Thomas Hudson Nelson’s The Birds of Yorkshire (1907) “large packs of birds came down into the lowlands.” Others were seen around the villages of Arthington and Weeton in Lower Wharfedale. As many as 500 of them were counted in one day, and a decade later similar hard weather forced them to scratch for food in fields around Harrogate.

Imidacloprid is being blamed for the deaths of native birds in Victoria. Lab results obtained by the ABC confirm that the chemical, which is used as an insecticide, killed at least 12 birds near Horsham last month. The same chemical has been banned in Europe because of concerns it is behind a dramatic decline in bee populations.