A restatement of the natural science evidence base concerning neonicotinoid insecticides and insect pollinators

Godfray, H. Charles J.; Blacquière, T.; Field, L. M.; Hails, Rosemary S.; Petrokofsky, Gillian; Potts, Simon G.; Raine, Nigel E.; Vanbergen, Adam J.; McLean, Angela R.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0558

Cited by 349 publications

(442 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In a response to Hallman et al, the Dutch Minister of the Environment expressed her concern about the effects of neonicotinoids on the environment, but also said that changes in legislation could not be based on a correlative study only. In the strict sense, demonstrating causality would require experiments (Dively et al 2015;Godfray et al 2014;Rundlof et al 2015) but for birds this would entail field trials at such a large spatial scale and over such a long time that they are impossible to conduct. We therefore must find other ways to demonstrate causality.…”

Section: Mastering Chance Effects At Local Scale To Explain Global Trmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chance, Variation and the Nature of Causality in Ecological Communities

Kroon

Jongejans

2016

The Frontiers Collection

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Chance is pervasive in nature. Erratic events such as storms and fires can cause major damage to an ecosystem. Rare successful long distance dispersal events like a viable seed landing in just the right habitat can form the stepping stone for range expansion of a plant species. Illustrated with two examples we argue that in ecology chance events are scale-dependent. We show how random stochastic variation in species interactions may result in relative stability at a higher community level. In other systems the reverse may take place, in which deterministic interactions result in unpredictable chaotic dynamics. Analysing the processes and dynamics at these different scales has led to an increasing mechanistic understanding of the variation in ecological communities in space and time. Unambiguous identification of cause and effect relations from this work is of the greatest importance, as many ecosystems in the world are not amenable to experimentation. This work should form the scientific basis for identifying the threats to ecosystems and defining proper conservation and mitigation measures.

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Section: Mastering Chance Effects At Local Scale To Explain Global Trmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chance, Variation and the Nature of Causality in Ecological Communities

Kroon

Jongejans

2016

The Frontiers Collection

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“…Neonicotinoids have been shown to have a variety of sublethal impacts on honeybees and bumblebees (Godfray et al . 2014, 2015), and concern over these sublethal effects has led to a moratorium (Regulation (EU) No 485/2013) on their use on crops attractive to bees in Europe and restrictions in some provinces of Canada.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the impacts of field‐realistic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide on bumblebee foraging, homing ability and colony growth

Stanley

Russell

Morrison

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary 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.Individual foragers from pesticide‐exposed colonies carried out longer foraging bouts than untreated controls (68 vs. 55 min). Pesticide‐exposed bees also brought back pollen less frequently than controls indicating reduced foraging performance.A higher proportion of bees from pesticide‐exposed colonies returned when released 1 km from their nests; this is potentially related to increased orientation experience during longer foraging bouts. We measured no impact of pesticide exposure on homing ability for bees released from 2 km, or when data were analysed overall.Despite a trend for control colonies to produce more new workers earlier, we found no overall impacts of pesticide exposure on whole colony size. Synthesis and applications. This study shows that field‐realistic neonicotinoid exposure can have impacts on both foraging ability and homing success of bumblebees, with implications for the success of bumblebee colonies in agricultural landscapes and their ability to deliver crucial pollination services. Pesticide risk assessments should include bee species other than honeybees and assess a range of behaviours to elucidate the impact of sublethal effects. This has relevance for reviews of neonicotinoid risk assessment and usage policy world‐wide.

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“…Com base em vários outros estudos, a União Europeia, em 2014, suspendeu o uso de vários inseticidas desse grupo para reavaliação, com decisão definitiva marcada para o fim de 2015. Assim, na Europa e ao redor do mundo, continua o debate sobre o papel da exposição aos agrotóxicos nas perdas de colônias de A. mellifera (Godfray et al, 2014).…”

Section: Histórico Da Síndrome "Distúrbio Do Colapso Das Colônias" Nounclassified

Enfraquecimento e perda de colônias de abelhas no Brasil: há casos de CCD?

Pires

Pereira

Lopes

et al. 2016

Pesq. agropec. bras.

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Resumo -Nas últimas décadas, o declínio de populações de abelhas silvestres e o colapso de colônias de Apis mellifera têm preocupado pesquisadores e apicultores. O objetivo deste artigo de revisão foi compilar alguns dos estudos mais relevantes relacionados às possíveis causas desses problemas -como nutrição, manejo, patógenos, parasitas e efeitos de agrotóxicos -, além de apresentar um breve histórico da síndrome "colony collapse disorder" (CCD) nos Estados Unidos e na Europa. Abordaram-se com mais detalhes os estudos desenvolvidos no Brasil, principalmente sobre agrotóxicos utilizados na agricultura e patógenos e parasitas que acometem as colônias de A. mellifera africanizada. Casos de enfraquecimento, declínio e colapso têm sido registrados, principalmente nos estados de São Paulo e Santa Catarina, que somam grandes perdas. Resultados das ocorrências analisadas indicaram que as mortalidades em massa registradas no Brasil não estavam associadas a patógenos ou a parasitas. Somente dois casos com características semelhantes às descritas para CCD foram registrados, porém sem causas definidas. Para que se conheçam as causas de enfraquecimentos e perdas de colônias de abelhas, é urgente a implementação de programas oficiais de levantamento sistemático da sanidade apícola, associados a pesquisas com foco nas avaliações dos possíveis impactos da fragmentação de habitats e das práticas agrícolas sobre as comunidades de abelhas.Termos para indexação: Apis mellifera, abelha africanizada, distúrbio do colapso das colônias, nutrição de abelhas, patologia apícola, polinização. Weakness and collapse of bee colonies in Brazil: are there cases of CCD?Abstract -In the last decades, the decline of wild bee populations and the collapse of Apis mellifera colonies have concerned researchers and beekeepers. The objective of this review was to compile some of the most relevant studies related to the possible causes of these problems -such as nutrition, management, pathogens, parasites, and the effects of pesticides -, besides presenting a brief history of the colony collapse disorder syndrome (CCD) in the United States and Europe. The studies developed in Brazil were presented in more detail, mainly those on pesticides used in agriculture and on pathogens and parasites that attack the colonies of Africanized A. mellifera. Cases of weakening, decline, and collapse have been recorded in Brazil, mainly in the states of São Paulo and Santa Catarina, which add up to great losses. Results of the analyzed occurrences indicated that the recorded mass mortalities were not associated with pathogens or parasites. Only two cases with characteristics similar to those described for CCD were recorded, but without defined causes. In order to know the causes of the weakening and collapses of colonies, the implementation of official programs is urgent for the systematic survey of bee health, associated with research focusing on assessments of possible impacts of habitat fragmentation and agricultural practices on bee communities.

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A restatement of the natural science evidence base concerning neonicotinoid insecticides and insect pollinators

Cited by 349 publications

References 16 publications

Chance, Variation and the Nature of Causality in Ecological Communities

Chance, Variation and the Nature of Causality in Ecological Communities

Investigating the impacts of field‐realistic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide on bumblebee foraging, homing ability and colony growth

Enfraquecimento e perda de colônias de abelhas no Brasil: há casos de CCD?

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