Post by Cotham Marble on Nov 24, 2015 13:00:39 GMT
Not quite a smoking gun but a distinct smell of cordite - peerj.com/articles/1402/ this time it's in a measure of the health of butterflies.
Abstract
There has been widespread concern that neonicotinoid pesticides may be adversely impacting wild and managed bees for some years, but recently attention has shifted to examining broader effects they may be having on biodiversity. For example in the Netherlands, declines in insectivorous birds are positively associated with levels of neonicotinoid pollution in surface water. In England, the total abundance of widespread butterfly species declined by 58% on farmed land between 2000 and 2009 despite both a doubling in conservation spending in the UK, and predictions that climate change should benefit most species. Here we build models of the UK population indices from 1985 to 2012 for 17 widespread butterfly species that commonly occur at farmland sites. Of the factors we tested, three correlated significantly with butterfly populations. Summer temperature and the index for a species the previous year are both positively associated with butterfly indices. By contrast, the number of hectares of farmland where neonicotinoid pesticides are used is negatively associated with butterfly indices. Indices for 15 of the 17 species show negative associations with neonicotinoid usage. The declines in butterflies have largely occurred in England, where neonicotinoid usage is at its highest. In Scotland, where neonicotinoid usage is comparatively low, butterfly numbers are stable. Further research is needed urgently to show whether there is a causal link between neonicotinoid usage and the decline of widespread butterflies or whether it simply represents a proxy for other environmental factors associated with intensive agriculture.
Butterfly Conservation are raising funds for further research: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/are-pesticides-killing-our-butterflies/?
Are pesticides killing our butterflies?
Our Butterflies are disappearing. Five species of butterfly have become extinct in the last 150 years and over three quarters are declining. The problem is particularly acute on farmland where numbers of widespread butterflies have declined by 58% in England over the last decade.
For the first time a scientific study has found evidence that Neonicotinoid (Neonics) pesticides could be a threat to butterflies.
The study, by Stirling University in association with Butterfly Conservation and others, found an extremely close link between populations of widespread butterflies that commonly breed on farmland and the total amount of Neonic pesticide being used in the UK each year. But it only shows a strong correlation between increasing use of Neonics and butterfly declines, not a proof of cause and effect.
In the USA, there is growing evidence that these pesticides are killing Monarch butterflies, because Neonic residues are getting into the milkweed plants that often grow in disturbed ground around arable crops. The same phenomenon could be happening here in Britain - we must find out!
Why is it important?
Neonics are a new type of highly toxic chemical which acts a nerve agent for insects. Neonics were introduced in the mid-1990s and are now widely used on crops such as cereals, sugar beet and oil seed rape. They are also sold for use in gardens, so many gardeners may be unwittingly adding to the problem.
During the last few years evidence has shown that Neonics have been harming bee populations and killing other insects in habitats in and around affected farmland.
Neonics stay in the environment; they reach all parts of the treated crop plant including pollen and nectar, as well as spreading into soils. They get into water courses and adjacent habitats such as field margins and hedgerows where many insects breed. There is even evidence that they spread into pollen and nectar in wildflower strips, purposefully sown around arable fields to help pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Pollinating insects play a vital role in our ecosystem and without them our environment and agriculture will suffer.
The pesticides were banned by the EU for two years for use in flowering crops as a precaution while more evidence was gathered. However, they are still used widely in cereal crops. It is vital that we urgently gather sound evidence before we can argue for their use to be reviewed.
Abstract
There has been widespread concern that neonicotinoid pesticides may be adversely impacting wild and managed bees for some years, but recently attention has shifted to examining broader effects they may be having on biodiversity. For example in the Netherlands, declines in insectivorous birds are positively associated with levels of neonicotinoid pollution in surface water. In England, the total abundance of widespread butterfly species declined by 58% on farmed land between 2000 and 2009 despite both a doubling in conservation spending in the UK, and predictions that climate change should benefit most species. Here we build models of the UK population indices from 1985 to 2012 for 17 widespread butterfly species that commonly occur at farmland sites. Of the factors we tested, three correlated significantly with butterfly populations. Summer temperature and the index for a species the previous year are both positively associated with butterfly indices. By contrast, the number of hectares of farmland where neonicotinoid pesticides are used is negatively associated with butterfly indices. Indices for 15 of the 17 species show negative associations with neonicotinoid usage. The declines in butterflies have largely occurred in England, where neonicotinoid usage is at its highest. In Scotland, where neonicotinoid usage is comparatively low, butterfly numbers are stable. Further research is needed urgently to show whether there is a causal link between neonicotinoid usage and the decline of widespread butterflies or whether it simply represents a proxy for other environmental factors associated with intensive agriculture.
Butterfly Conservation are raising funds for further research: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/are-pesticides-killing-our-butterflies/?
Are pesticides killing our butterflies?
Our Butterflies are disappearing. Five species of butterfly have become extinct in the last 150 years and over three quarters are declining. The problem is particularly acute on farmland where numbers of widespread butterflies have declined by 58% in England over the last decade.
For the first time a scientific study has found evidence that Neonicotinoid (Neonics) pesticides could be a threat to butterflies.
The study, by Stirling University in association with Butterfly Conservation and others, found an extremely close link between populations of widespread butterflies that commonly breed on farmland and the total amount of Neonic pesticide being used in the UK each year. But it only shows a strong correlation between increasing use of Neonics and butterfly declines, not a proof of cause and effect.
In the USA, there is growing evidence that these pesticides are killing Monarch butterflies, because Neonic residues are getting into the milkweed plants that often grow in disturbed ground around arable crops. The same phenomenon could be happening here in Britain - we must find out!
Why is it important?
Neonics are a new type of highly toxic chemical which acts a nerve agent for insects. Neonics were introduced in the mid-1990s and are now widely used on crops such as cereals, sugar beet and oil seed rape. They are also sold for use in gardens, so many gardeners may be unwittingly adding to the problem.
During the last few years evidence has shown that Neonics have been harming bee populations and killing other insects in habitats in and around affected farmland.
Neonics stay in the environment; they reach all parts of the treated crop plant including pollen and nectar, as well as spreading into soils. They get into water courses and adjacent habitats such as field margins and hedgerows where many insects breed. There is even evidence that they spread into pollen and nectar in wildflower strips, purposefully sown around arable fields to help pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Pollinating insects play a vital role in our ecosystem and without them our environment and agriculture will suffer.
The pesticides were banned by the EU for two years for use in flowering crops as a precaution while more evidence was gathered. However, they are still used widely in cereal crops. It is vital that we urgently gather sound evidence before we can argue for their use to be reviewed.
