Bird populations and wildlife are declining rapidly. People are looking for the smoking gun. The one thing that is certain is the human population is increasing and this is stressing the natural world. We humans not only introduce pollutants in the environment but you use the term “natural resource” as an excuse to exterminate populations. The insect biomass is free fall in certain areas and hence the bird populations too. There is new evidence that the use of systemic pesticides is linked to the Bee die off. In the United States, neonicotinoids, a systemic class of pesticides, “coat a massive 142 million acres of corn, wheat, soy and cotton seeds. They are also a common ingredient in home gardening products.” These pesticides are of a particular concern because they kill sucking and chewing insects by disrupting their nervous system. Furthermore, “unlike older pesticides that evaporate or disperse shortly after application, neonicotinoids are systemic poisons. Applied to the soil or doused on seeds, neonicotinoid insecticides incorporate themselves into the plant’s tissues, turning the plant itself into a tiny poison factory emitting toxin from its roots, leaves, stems, pollen, and nectar.” In the one study, a research team at the University of Sterling, U.K., exposed bumble bees to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, a clothianidin predecessor, then allowed them to develop naturally under field conditions. The researches found that “treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens compared to control colonies.” They concluded that the “impacts of imidacloprid on reproduction of wild bumble bee colonies are likely to be widespread and significant, particularly as this chemical is registered for use on over 140 crops in over 120 countries” and suggested that there “is an urgent need to develop alternatives to the widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides on flowering crops wherever possible.” These chemicals could therefore be effect insect populations in general and hence the bird populations that feed on them….
Man is messing with nature and nature will have her say… ultimately effecting the carrying capacity of the earth.
Richard
