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Today the European Commission presents criteria to identify endocrine disruptors in the field of plant protection products and biocides. The Commission proposes to the Council and the European Parliament to adopt a strong science-based approach to the identification of endocrine disruptors and to endorse the WHO definition. Endocrine disruptors are substances, both natural and chemical, that can alter the functions of the hormonal system and consequently cause adverse effects on people or animals.

Neonicotinoid pesticides, such as the widely used compound imidacloprid, are suspected to impair cognitive capacity, behaviour, and fitness of a number of non-target species. We tested whether sublethal imidacloprid concentrations alter the foraging and aggression behaviour of two European ant species. Even though the nestmate-recruitment of Lasius niger was not affected by pesticide exposure, these ants required more time to become active and the number of foraging workers was lower than in sub-colonies not exposed to imidacloprid.

There is a growing concern that exposure to environmental chemicals in early life may interfere with brain development. In particular, neonicotinoid pesticides have drawn considerable attention. As a pesticide class, neonicotinoids are designed to overstimulate insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). These pesticides were previously thought to be relatively harmless to mammalian species because of their low binding affinities to mammalian nAChRs.

The ability to forage and return home is essential to the success of bees as both foragers and pollinators. Pesticide exposure may cause behavioural changes that interfere with these processes, with consequences for colony persistence and delivery of pollination services. We investigated the impact of chronic exposure (5–43 days) to field-realistic levels of a neonicotinoid insecticide (2·4 ppb thiamethoxam) on foraging ability, homing success and colony size using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in free-flying bumblebee colonies.

Neonicotinoids are implicated in the decline of bee populations. As agonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, they disturb acetylcholine receptor signaling leading to neurotoxicity. Several behavioral studies showed the link between neonicotinoid exposure and adverse effects on foraging activity and reproduction. However, molecular effects underlying these effects are poorly understood. Here we elucidated molecular effects at environmental realistic levels of three neonicotinoids and nicotine, and compared laboratory studies to field exposures with acetamiprid.

A strong immune defense is vital for honey bee health and colony survival. This defense can be weakened by environmental factors that may render honey bees more vulnerable to parasites and pathogens. Honey bees are frequently exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides, which are being discussed as one of the stress factors that may lead to colony failure.

Estimates on the total number of spotted owls (Strix occidentalis) in Washington state are, like the bird itself, elusive, but spotted-owl study areas indicate the scope of their demise. In the three study areas in Washington actively monitored by state and federal agencies, spotted-owl populations have declined between 4.7 percent and 8.4 percent a year over the past 20 years. In one Cle Elum study area, of 77 historical spotted-owl territories only 11 were found occupied in 2015.

Dozens of adult purple martins (Progne subis) in the Mid-Atlantic starved to death this spring. Particularly hard hit was an established martin colony at Longwood Gardens, where an estimated 30 adults died. In Delaware, nesting has been delayed by as much as 2 1/2 weeks. Because the birds depend on live insects, which they capture in flight, there was little that could be done to save them.