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The Index of Abundance for Scottish Terrestrial Breeding Birds, published today by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), shows that the long-term trend (1994-2014) for upland birds is a continuing decline, down by 19% since 1994. Curlew (Numenius arquata) is one of the upland species that has shown the greatest decline (-49%) and is now considered to be the UK’s highest conservation priority. Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) have also declined, by 47%. The Dotterel (Charadrius morinellus) is a wading bird which breeds at high altitude in the Scottish uplands and has also shown alarming declines, falling by 60% between 1994 and 2014. The Farmland Bird Indicator in Scotland shows mixed fortunes. Species such as Goldfinch, Corncrake, Common Whitethroat and Reed Bunting are all doing well but Kestrel (-77%) and Lapwing (-58%) have fared less well, the former showing the greatest decline of any index species since 1994. Agricultural intensification and predation are likely to be the main drivers of Lapwing decline.

Wild bees, crucial pollinators for many crops, are on the decline in some of the main agricultural regions of the United States, according to scientists who produced the first national map of bee populations and identified numerous trouble spots. The researchers on Monday cited 139 counties as especially worrisome, with wild bee numbers decreasing while farmland for crops dependent on such pollinators is increasing. The counties included agricultural regions of California such as the Central Valley, as well as the Pacific northwest, the upper midwest and Great Plains, west Texas and the southern Mississippi river valley. The counties grew crops such as almonds, pumpkins, squashes, blueberries, watermelons, peaches and apples that are highly dependent on pollinators, or had large amounts of less-pollinator-dependent crops including soybeans, canola and cotton. Taylor Ricketts, director of the University of Vermont’s Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, said the 139 counties represent 39% of the pollinator-dependent crop area of the United States and most likely will face inadequate pollination in the future. “Wild bee declines may increase costs for farmers and, over time, could even destabilize crop production,” Ricketts said.

To determine the exposure of native bees to pesticides, bees were collected from an existing research area in northeastern Colorado in both grasslands (2013–2014) and wheat fields (2014). Traps were deployed bi-monthly during the summer at each land cover type and all bees, regardless of species, were composited as whole samples and analyzed for 136 current-use pesticides and degradates. This reconnaissance approach provides a sampling of all species and represents overall pesticide exposure (internal and external). Nineteen pesticides and degradates were detected in 54 composite samples collected. Compounds detected in > 2% of the samples included: insecticides thiamethoxam (46%), bifenthrin (28%), clothianidin (24%), chlorpyrifos (17%), imidacloprid (13%), fipronil desulfinyl (7%; degradate); fungicides azoxystrobin (17%), pyraclostrobin (11%), fluxapyroxad (9%), and propiconazole (9%); herbicides atrazine (19%) and metolachlor (9%). Concentrations ranged from 1 to 310 ng/g for individual pesticides. Pesticides were detected in samples collected from both grasslands and wheat fields.

Neonicotinoids may be contributing towards the disappearance of butterflies from the countryside, according to the first scientific study to examine the effect of the controversial agricultural pesticides on British butterflies. Researchers found that 15 of 17 species which commonly live on farmland – including the small tortoiseshell, small skipper and wall butterfly – show declines associated with increasing neonic use. Using population data from 1985 to 2012 gathered on more than 1,000 sites across the country, scientists at the universities of Stirling and Sussex, in partnership with Butterfly Conservation and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, found that neonicotinoid use better explained steep population declines than other factors. Neonics were first introduced in 1994 and usage increased at its fastest rate during the first decade of the 21st century, when farmland butterflies also experienced a precipitous decline, despite a doubling in conservation spending and predictions that climate change would benefit most species. The Essex skipper declined by 67% between 2000 and 2009 and the small skipper declined by 62% in the same period. Both species’ caterpillars live on grasses found on field margins. Other common farmland butterflies to have suffered steep declines include the small tortoiseshell (64%), the wall brown (37%) and the large skipper (35%). According to the study, published in the journal PeerJ, these declines have largely occurred in England, where neonic usage is at its highest; in Scotland, where spraying of the pesticide is comparatively low, butterfly numbers are stable.

Last month, EDGE acquired a draft of the Government of the Northwest Territories State of the Environment Report Highlights 2016, the first report of its kind done since 2011. Although the report is still a work in progress, the picture it paints is, unsurprisingly, grim. Migratory birds are hit especially hard. “Elders in the NWT have noted for many years that migratory birds are in sharp decline. Bird monitoring has shown that most shorebirds nesting in the Arctic are declining and that many boreal birds that feed on aerial insects are declining.”

Karanji Lake (Kannada: ಕಾರಂಜಿ ಕೆರೆ) is a lake located in the city of Mysore in the state of Karnataka, India. Karanji Lake was one of the favourite haunts of migratory birds like herons and egrets. But the number of bird species seems to be on the decline at Karanji Lake. This came to light when avian enthusiasts went to the lake on Sunday for birdwatching. With the assistance of naturalists, the bird enthusiasts managed to locate about 48 bird species in the lake ecosystem. D. Rajkumar of Wildlife Conservation Foundation, who assisted the participants, told The Hindu that there used to be at least 210 bird species in the lake ecosystem during bird watching sessions about six to seven years ago. “Now, the species number is dropping and we could only locate less number of species. Moreover, the number of birds was also less. The same situation prevails even in other lakes located within the city” he said. Mr. Rajkumar said the number of Common Coot had come down drastically. “We used to see them at this time in big numbers in lakes like Karanji and other lakes during the waterfowl census.” Mr. Rajkumar’s views were endorsed by photographer G.S. Ravishankar, who, with two bird enthusiasts Prithvi and Tejas, organised the bird watching session at Karanji Lake under the banner of Mysore Naturalists Ark. “Both the bird number and species had dropped. If birds are not assured of food, they start going away from the water bodies."

A decline in wildlife is threatening core functions of the ecosystem that are vital for human wellbeing, researchers behind an unprecedented study of biodiversity in the UK have warned. Hedgehogs, hoverflies, moths and birds are among the groups in most serious decline, with individual species under particular threat including the common red ant, red shanked carder bee and the common banded hoverfly. The findings are based on what is believed to be the biggest analysis of British wildlife ever conducted, with researchers from the University of Reading and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology looking at records covering 4,424 species, collected between 1970 and 2009. Among species considered pollinators – such as bees, moths and hoverflies – 28% are in decline, while 16% of those that act as natural pest controllers, such as ants and ground beetles, have witnessed significant losses. Dr Tom Oliver, an ecologist at the University of Reading who led the study, told the Guardian that continued losses among wildlife performing those functions would lead to significant rises in the price of food, with some food groups likely to become unavailable. “Under current trends we are moving towards the loss of species and the ecosystem functions that are vital for human wellbeing, especially pollination and pest control,” he said. “We need insects to pollinate our crops – we can’t do it by hand – and if we lose natural pest controls, less food will be available. If we lose those functions, the crops we eat won’t be able to be pollinated so the price of food would go hugely up and certain foods we wouldn’t be able to eat such as fruits including strawberries, raspberries and apples.”

The Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) is in decline across its entire range, and its rate of decline is increasing—that is the conclusion of a major demographic study produced by federal scientists, published Wednesday, December 9, 2015, in the journal “The Condor.” The study examined survey results from monitoring areas across the range of the imperiled owl. This research indicates that since monitoring began in 1985, Spotted Owl populations declined 55-77 percent in Washington, 31-68 percent in Oregon, and 32-55 percent in California. In addition, population declines are now occurring in study areas in southern Oregon and northern California that were previously experiencing little to no detectable decline through 2009. The northern spotted owl is primarily nocturnal. Its diet consists mainly of wood rats (Neotoma sp.) and flying squirrels, although it will also eat other small mammals, reptiles, birds and insects.The Northern Spotted Owl is a rare raptor often associated with the complex features and closed canopy of mature or old-growth forests. Since it is associated with older forests, the owl serves as an “indicator species”—its presence indicates that the forest is healthy and functioning properly.