Pesticides reduce regional biodiversity of stream invertebrates

Abstract

The biodiversity crisis is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, but our understanding of the drivers remains limited. Thus, after decades of studies and regulation efforts, it remains unknown whether to what degree and at what concentrations modern agricultural pesticides cause regional-scale species losses. We analyzed the effects of pesticides on the regional taxa richness of stream invertebrates in Europe (Germany and France) and Australia (southern Victoria). Pesticides caused statistically significant effects on both the species and family richness in both regions, with losses in taxa up to 42% of the recorded taxonomic pools. Furthermore, the effects in Europe were detected at concentrations that current legislation considers environmentally protective. Thus, the current ecological risk assessment of pesticides falls short of protecting biodiversity, and new approaches linking ecology and ecotoxicology are needed.

Identifying the landscape drivers of agricultural insecticide use leveraging evidence from 100,000 fields

“…However, many of these chemicals have adverse environmental and ecological effects. Pesticides, broadly, and insecticides, in particular, have been linked to biodiversity declines in numerous taxa in both temperate and tropical regions (13,14), as well as declines in water and air quality. Further, off-site pesticide contamination and pesticide resistance are important externalities of pesticide use that have consequences for both chronic and infectious human diseases.…”

Organic chemicals jeopardize the health of freshwater ecosystems on the continental scale

“…5). Similarly, a recent study found losses of invertebrate biodiversity above the CRT (30). However, these results should be interpreted with caution, because European streams are subject to multiple stresses (e.g., >90% of lowland streams; ref.…”

Insecticides in sediment cores from a rural and a suburban area in South China: A reflection of shift in application patterns

“…Pesticides may reach surface water through various pathways, such as atmospheric deposition, surface runoff, and sewage drainage (Lin et al, 2008;Jiang and Gan, 2012). As a consequence, pesticide pollution in aquatic ecosystems has gained worldwide awareness because of their ubiquity in the environment and potential risk to aquatic organisms and human health (Beketov et al, 2013;Malaj et al, 2014).…”