Terrestrial Invertebrates

Also see soil,  pyrethrins, glyphosate, low dose effects 

Pollinator Decline Leads to Crop Losses, Malnutrition, and Highest Threat to Low-Income   (Beyond Pesticides, January 10, 2023) Pollinator losses are responsible for reducing the global production of nuts, fruits, and vegetables by 3-5%, and this loss of healthy, nutrient-dense food is resulting in over 425,000 excess deaths each year, according to research published late last year in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Survey Technique Increases Agricultural Resiliency and Protects Pollinators; Higher Species Diversity in Organic      (Beyond Pesticides, December 21, 2022) Imagine plucking a flower and being able to find out every insect that recently visited that plant. By evaluating the environmental DNA (eDNA) left behind by insect pollinators alongside visual assessment surveys, a new study is providing an innovative way for farmers to improve pollination and protect on-farm biodiversity.   Scientists also conducted visual monitoring, whereby an observer stood between two orchard rows and recorded all flower visitors within roughly eight feet of themselves. The two methods of observation provide somewhat differing, yet complimentary results.

Glyphosate Based Herbicides and Bee Health: The American Bumble Bee   (Beyond Pesticide, October 20,2022) Exposure to environmentally relevant levels of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) weakens bumblebees’ (Bombus Terrestris) ability to distinguish between colors or fine-color discrimination. According to research published in Science of The Total Environment, a lack of fine-color discrimination skills can threaten bumble bee survivability through impact on colony fitness and individual foraging success.    One to several acute exposures to GBHs, similar to field-realistic perspectives, significantly impairs bumble bees’ ability to discriminate between the ten flower colors. During the learning phase, control and GBH-exposed bees display differences in learning rate. Control bees learning rate increased after two sessions, while GBH-exposed bees’ learning rate dropped to zero. The results find the second group of control bees performed at the same level as the learning session, while the new group of GBH-exposed bees lost all learning from the previous two days. The study also demonstrates GBH does not affect bumble bees’ ability to discriminate between odors or two spectrally different colors (i.e., yellow, and blue in the experiment)

Study Documents Aggregate Insecticide Load for Pollinators in Real-World Analysis   (Beyond Pesticides. October 14, 2022) (US) A team of researchers has taken on the challenge of integrating data from multiple and disparate sources in order to devise tools with which scientists can evaluate pollinator pesticide exposures and impacts more effectively at “landscape scale” (and at real-life exposure levels).  The datasets they have created include these, for 10 major crops (or crop groups) in each of the 48 contiguous U.S. states.

• average application rate of more than 500 common pesticide active ingredients (1997–2017)
• aggregate bee toxic load (honey bee lethal doses) of all insecticides combined (1997–2014); note that this dataset ends in 2014 because after that year, data on seed-applied pesticides were excluded, and these contribute significantly to bee toxic load
• eclassification tables relating these pesticide-use indicators to land use/land cover classes, enabling the creation of maps predicting annual pesticide loading (at 30–56 m resolution)

The researchers tackle obstacles, and created datasets and methods that allow mapping of pesticide use estimates to extant land use data. They recommend “matching state-level, crop- and year-specific pesticide use averages to land use estimated through remote sensing.” Through these methods, they say, it is “possible to generate maps of predicted bee toxic load and individual active ingredients at 30 m resolution,   SNAP Comment: Considering we are stii in the dark as of pesticide sale for SK, we are nowhere close to a map for SK.

Study first to link weed killer Roundup to convulsions in animals   (Florida Atlantic University, 23 August, 2022)      'Results, published in Scientific Reports, showed that glyphosate and Roundup increased seizure-like behavior in soil-dwelling roundworms and provides significant evidence that glyphosate targets GABA-A receptors. These communication points are essential for locomotion and are heavily involved in regulating sleep and mood in humans. What truly sets this research apart is that it was done at significantly less levels than recommended by the EPA and those used in past studies.     "The concentration listed for best results on the Roundup Super Concentrate label is 0.98 percent glyphosate, which is about 5 tablespoons of Roundup in 1 gallon of water," said Naraine. "A significant finding from our study reveals that just 0.002 percent glyphosate, a difference of about 300 times less herbicide than the lowest concentration recommended for consumer use, had concerning effects on the nervous system."     "As of now, there is no information for how exposure to glyphosate and Roundup may affect humans diagnosed with epilepsy or other seizure disorders," said Dawson-Scully. "Our study indicates that there is significant disruption in locomotion and should prompt further vertebrate studies."' see also New Evidence Shows Roundup Damages the Nervous System  (Beyond Pesticides, August 30, 2022) 

Pesticide Use on Island Resorts Tied to Biodiversity Collapse    (Beyond Pesticides, December 8, 2021) . Oceanic islands, despite their small size, harbor 20% of all species, and 50% of endangered species, making conservation critically important in the context of a sixth mass extinction and insect apocalypse.    Results show that, compared to uninhabited islands, urban islands contain roughly half the number of species, while tourist islands contain approximately one third. On urban islands, researchers attribute the disparity to habitat fragmentation, loss of habitat quality, and loss of natural vegetation cover.    With increased occurrences of cosmetic landscaping, small gardens, golf courses, and other tourism-related activities, researchers thus attribute pesticide use as the driver of declines on tourist areas. Every tourist island studied indicates that they regularly apply insecticides, specifically synthetic pyrethroids like deltamethrin, in and around structures to manage common pests like mosquitoes, bedbugs, and cockroaches. 

Vital soil organisms being harmed by pesticides, study shows    The tiny creatures are the ‘unsung heroes’ that keep soils healthy and underpin all life on land (The Guardian, 4 May 2021)    'The researchers found the measured impacts of farm chemicals on earthworms, beetles, springtails and other organisms were overwhelmingly negative. Other scientists said the findings were alarming, given the importance of these “unsung heroes”.' The study 'covered more than 275 species and 284 pesticides, but excluded any chemicals currently banned in the US.    Donley said: “It’s not just one or two pesticides that are causing harm, the results are really very consistent across the whole class of chemical poisons.” A 2012 review showed that pesticides can also harm microbial life in soils.' see also  Meta-Review: Pesticides Kill or Harm Soil Invertebrates Essential to Soil Health (Beyond Pesticides, May 7, 2021) 

Soil Biota Adversely Affected by Interaction of Inputs and Practices in Chemical-Intensive Agriculture (Beyond Pesticides, October 14, 2016) .."The study demonstrates that simple evaluations of pesticide exposure on single organisms does not give a complete picture of pesticide risk."...The study, titled 'Pesticide Interactions with Tillage and N Source, Effects on fauna, microoganisms and selected ecosystem services', monitored soil biota during two cropping seasons of winter wheat...Researchers observed a negative effect due to pesticide treatment on mites, and generally found that all taxonomic groups were affected negatively, especially following insecticide treatment.

Roundup Damages Earthworms and Soil Biota, Contributes to Nutrient Pollution (Beyond Pesticides, August 17, 2015) A study published in Scientific Reports has found that glyphosate, the controversial and toxic active ingredient in Roundup, reduces activity and reproduction in two species of earthworms and increases soil nutrient concentrations to dangerous levels... Researchers found that after the application of glyphosate, the casting activity of vertically burrowing earthworms essentially ceased. Cast mound mass also decreased by 46%. In contrast, casting activity of this species remained constant when there was no application of glyphosate. In the second species, the soil dwelling earthworms, reproduction decreased by 56% after glyphosate application.

Sublethal Exposure to Pesticides Induces Personality Changes in Spiders (Beyond Pesticides, August 14, 2015) 'Sublethal exposure to the organophosphate pesticide phosmet results in significant alterations in personality in individual spiders, according to a study published in the July print edition of the journal Functional Ecology...Exposed individuals showed an average of 23 percent lower repeatability and the correlation between activity and prey capture is more strongly collapsed in females', making hem less effcient predators.