Widespread Losses of Pollinating Insects in Britain https://phys.org/news/2019-03-widespread-losses-pollinating-insects-britain.htmlhttps://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/pollinator-monitoring ... The research, led by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, measured the presence of 353 wild bee and hoverfly species across the country, from 1980 to 2013. It showed one third of species experienced declines in terms of areas in which they were found, while one tenth increased. For the remainder of species, their distribution was either stable or the trend was inconclusive.
The research, published in the journal
Nature Communications, also showed that on average, the geographic range of bee and hoverfly species declined by a quarter. This is equivalent to a net loss of 11 species from each 1km square.
Overall losses were more notable for pollinator species found in northern Britain. This may be a result of climate change, with species that prefer cooler temperatures reducing their geographical spread in response to less climatically suitable landscapes.
Open Access: Gary D. Powney, Claire Carvell, Mike Edwards, Roger K. A. Morris, Helen E. Roy, Ben A. Woodcock and Nick J. B. Isaac.
Widespread losses of pollinating insects in Britain,
Nature Communications (2019)
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Worrying Long-Term Stability of Pesticides in Honey https://phys.org/news/2019-02-long-term-stability-pesticides-honey.htmlResearchers from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland have developed an ultra-sensitive method to quantify extremely low concentrations of neonicotinoid pesticides in honey. This is a follow up to their study on the global contamination of honey by these pesticides published in the Journal Science in October 2017.
The authors, which also include colleagues from the Botanical Garden of Neuchâtel, found that these pesticides did not degrade in honey over a period of 40 months. These results were published in the journal
Environmental Pollution.The long-term stability of these molecules is worrying: "if these pesticides are brought back to the hive with nectar, this implies that the entire colony, including the queen, is exposed during its entire life to these neurotoxins", points out Blaise Mulhauser, director of the Botanical Garden of Neuchâtel.
"Likewise, the concentration of these pesticides will be stable over a period of several years also in honey destined to human consumption"---------------------------
Interior Nominee Intervened to Block Report on Endangered Species https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/us/politics/endangered-species-david-bernhardt.amp.html... Fish and Wildlife Service analysis found that two of the pesticides, malathion and chlorpyrifos, were so toxic that they “jeopardize the continued existence” of more than 1,200 endangered birds, fish and other animals and plants, a conclusion that could lead to tighter restrictions on use of the chemicals.But just before the team planned to make its findings public in November 2017, something unexpected happened: Top political appointees of the Interior Department, which oversees the Fish and Wildlife Service, blocked the release and set in motion a new process intended to apply a much narrower standard to determine the risks from the pesticides.Leading that intervention was David Bernhardt, then the deputy secretary of the interior and a former lobbyist and oil-industry lawyer. In October 2017, he abruptly summoned staff members to the first of a rapid series of meetings in which the Fish and Wildlife Service was directed to take the new approach, one that pesticide makers and users had lobbied intensively to promote.
Mr. Bernhardt is now President Trump’s nominee to become interior secretary. The Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing on his confirmation Thursday.... A Dow spokesman said the shift in policy was unrelated to the $1 million contribution to Trump’s inauguration committee.