by Jannaca Chick
This past year there has been a lot in the news about the effects of neonicotinoids particularly in relation to bees, but also on birds as well as the environment. As I am interested in how these insecticides could affect birds, I contacted Alison Moran, who coordinates the Hummingbird Project at RPBO. She said that she often gets asked this question and directed me to a number of online resources. I thought it might be useful to outline how these pesticides work, why they are used, the effect on birds, and the basis of the current controversy.
What are Neonicotinoids?This past year there has been a lot in the news about the effects of neonicotinoids particularly in relation to bees, but also on birds as well as the environment. As I am interested in how these insecticides could affect birds, I contacted Alison Moran, who coordinates the Hummingbird Project at RPBO. She said that she often gets asked this question and directed me to a number of online resources. I thought it might be useful to outline how these pesticides work, why they are used, the effect on birds, and the basis of the current controversy.
Neonicotinoids, commonly called “neonics”, are broad-spectrum systemic insecticides. They were first introduced in the 1990s in response to the widespread resistance of pests to older products, as well as health concerns associated with them. Neonicotinoids are now the most widely-used insecticides in the world, registered for use on hundreds of field crops in over 120 countries. They are coated on seeds, sprayed on plants and injected into trees. You may also use them regularly, since some, such as imadocloprid (Advantage®), are commonly used in treatments for pets to prevent fleas and lice.
How Neonics Work
Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic for many invertebrates,
meaning that they disrupt information flow down nerves and thus, have an impact
on muscle coordination and spatial perception, such as the location of a food
resource. As such, neonics
can act directly and indirectly. They act directly as toxins, affecting
invertebrates such as plant predators, which eat coated seeds or plant
tissues containing the insecticide. They can also affect organisms
indirectly by altering prey availability.
Neonics are water-soluble which causes them to break down more quickly than the older class of more recalcitrant insecticides. It was expected that they would break down quickly; however, some environmentalists and scientists are concerned that studies show this class of insecticides is lasting longer than expected in the environment. They are worried about leaching and runoff potential, groundwater infiltration, and the possibility of longer-term direct and indirect effects on target and non-target species.
Neonicotinoids’ toxicity to bees and other insects, as well as their effects on birds and the environment at large, has been much in the news this past year. Information from scientific studies and statistics on honey industry bee losses have led to a better understanding of observed, and potential, environmental effects. While these effects are being addressed generally by regulatory agencies and industry, responses by different countries (and even provinces of Canada) differ. For example, Ontario has decided to adopt a precautionary principle with respect to pollinator protection and is just bringing in new regulations that will dramatically reduce neonicotinoid use in that province.
Neonics are water-soluble which causes them to break down more quickly than the older class of more recalcitrant insecticides. It was expected that they would break down quickly; however, some environmentalists and scientists are concerned that studies show this class of insecticides is lasting longer than expected in the environment. They are worried about leaching and runoff potential, groundwater infiltration, and the possibility of longer-term direct and indirect effects on target and non-target species.
Neonicotinoids’ toxicity to bees and other insects, as well as their effects on birds and the environment at large, has been much in the news this past year. Information from scientific studies and statistics on honey industry bee losses have led to a better understanding of observed, and potential, environmental effects. While these effects are being addressed generally by regulatory agencies and industry, responses by different countries (and even provinces of Canada) differ. For example, Ontario has decided to adopt a precautionary principle with respect to pollinator protection and is just bringing in new regulations that will dramatically reduce neonicotinoid use in that province.
Neonics and Birds
Scientific literature identifies a number of environmental concerns for avian species. Although supposedly not an
intended target of the insecticide, birds can be directly and indirectly
affected by neonics (direct: toxicity from ingestion of coated seeds; indirect:
reduced food availability for insectivores). Direct toxicity concerns differ
depending on the sensitivity of a species and route of exposure. Concerns are
highest for birds that are pollinators, seed eaters, insectivores,
nectarivores, and those dependent on invertebrate prey.
Studies have shown that while neonicotinoids are
commonly considered to be safer for mammals and birds than for insects, they can still be dangerous in high enough
doses. In Canada, canola seeds, wheat, corn, soybeans, and even some fruits,
vegetables and flower seeds are coated with neonics, which allows the them to
be incorporated throughout the plants. These are of particular concern for
seed-eating birds given the fact that only a small number of seeds need to be
ingested to be harmful. According
to a study published by Environment Canada researcher Pierre Mineau in
2013, “a single kernel of imidacloprid-treated corn can kill small and ‘blue jay-sized birds’, and sicken larger ones”.
For avian insectivores, the abundance and availability
of food directly affects their habitat selection, reproductive success, and
survival. Aerial insectivores as a group have been experiencing widespread
population declines for the last few decades. Their dependence on emergent
insects is well known. Since these pesticides persist in water and kill target
and non-target species alike, there are fewer insects overall for birds to eat.
It should be noted that during breeding season even
seed-eating birds become insectivores and they feed insects to their young in
nests. As planting season coincides with bird breeding season, there is an
overall increased risk to birds.
Agricultural Perspective
The concerns of farmers must also be recognized. They
need to make a living and keep their costs down as their profit margins are
small. They already deal with many factors, including variable weather
patterns, complex pest management strategies, and changing prices on the open
market. Farmers have turned to coated seeds because this use is targeted and
broadcast spraying of crops is not necessary, greatly reducing the amount of
insecticide used. In addition, pre-treatment of seeds often does away with the
need to till fields (tillage can adversely affect soil quality and structure,
and can lead to increased land erosion and fertilizer use). If neonics are not
used, it is possible that farmers will need to use more land for crops to get
the same yield.
In addition to the environmental and economic
considerations discussed above, there is also the issue of food security. Most
of us are not growing food ourselves and thus, we rely on the output of farmers
on a daily basis. This begs the question, ‘If neonicotinoids are banned, then
with what will they be replaced?’
More on
Neonics
Clearly, neonic use is a multi-faceted topic, with real
concerns on all sides. Balancing the environmental costs and benefits of using
these products with economics and food security is not a trivial task. However,
it is one that regulatory agencies, science and the agriculture industry are
trying to solve. There is now a quite a bit of information available on the
subject of neonicotinoids. The following links should help you find out more
about this topic.
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/toxins/Neonic_FINAL.pdf
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/decline-in-birds-not-just-bees-linked-to-neonicotinoid-pesticides-1.2706542
A CBC “Quirks and Quarks” interview with Dr. Christy Morrissey, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Saskatchewan, who is currently investigating how neonics affect insects and birds in the prairies: http://www.cbc/quirks/2014/10/04/2014-10-14-1/ The Birds, and the Bees - and the Pesticides
In Canada, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, PMRA,
is the agency that issues compliance standards and regulates the use of
insecticides by farmers.
Ontario is
the first province to restrict use of neonics as of 2015.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection
Agency’s review of neonicotinoids is focused on the threat to insect
pollinators (one third of the U.S. diet depends on insect pollinators):
A recent letter, January 2015, from the American
Soybean Association to the EPA concerning the use of neonics in soybean agriculture:
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