Tag Archives: pesticides

Evolution by Pesticides: Evidence of Evolution in American Alligators Affected by Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

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The following post is one of a series previewing the research that will be presented at the SETAC North (SciCon4), 14–18 November 2021.

A guest post by Yeraldi Loera, Ph.D. student at Princeton University

Solo gator. Photo courtesy of the author.

Instances of are widespread across the globe. Pesticides are commonly used in agriculture to combat pests, but can also harm other, non-targeted organisms. Exposure to some pesticides can lead to disruption in the endocrine system, altering reproductive development and fitness. showed this kind of disruptive effect across populations of American alligators (Alligator mississipiensis) that were exposed to a pesticide (DDT) spill in Lake Apopka, Florida. Surprisingly, in the same region showed a rebound in the population following their exposure, suggesting possible evolved resistance to pesticide contamination.

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The Fog

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The following post is one of a series previewing the research that will be presented at the (SciCon2), 15–19 November 2020.

A guest post by Eric Peterson, Texas Tech University

Imagine driving down a country road on a clear, beautiful summer evening, when you see what looks like fog across the road in front of you. As you drive closer and closer, your car becomes engulfed, and you can no longer see the telephone poles in front of you. After a few hundred meters or so of this “fog,” you emerge on the other side, and it is once again clear. While it may sound like a scene out of the Stephen King novel The Mist, and more of a science fiction scenario, it is actually a phenomenon that occurs on a nightly basis all across the High Plains of the United States of America (US). The true culprit of this “fog” is actually dust emanating from beef cattle feed yards on a nightly basis.

Beef cattle feed yards typically house thousands of cattle in relatively tight areas and can cover two square kilometers. Photo credit Eric Peterson
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Pesticides and Pollinators: New Research on the Impacts of Farming Activities on Bee Populations

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A guest post by Erica K. Brockmeier

The following post is one of a series generated from research presented at the SETAC Europe Annual Meeting in Brussels, Belgium (7-11 May 2017). Each post features the latest research findings from SETAC scientists on emerging topics of interest.

Are pesticides hurting pollinators?

The widespread loss of honeybee populations in Europe and the reduced numbers of wild bees in other countries sparked concern among scientists, policymakers, and farmers all across the world. Recent research conducted on historical field data found a between the use of certain insecticides and changes in wild bee populations. This was especially true for species that are known to visit flowering crops like oil seed rape.

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Bumblebee (Bombus sp.) on oil seed rape, England (cropped from original). Credit: Dean Morley, CC BY-ND 2.0.

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Neonicotinoid Pesticides: New Findings Highlight Their Role in the Disappearance of Bees

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

European honeybee (Apis mellifera). Photo by , Wikimedia Commons, .

Bees have been declining for years worldwide—this is a well-accepted fact. However, the “why” of this decline is still a matter of debate. Although it is likely that a combination of different factors is contributing to the global bee die-offs, increasing attention is now devoted to the toxic effects of a group of pesticides called neonicotinoids, or neonics for short. They are systemic pesticides—their solubility in water allows them to reach leaves, flowers, roots and stems, even pollen and nectar. One could therefore infer that these pesticides will likely kill not only the insects that farmers want to eliminate, but also pollinators. Continue reading →

Effects of Pesticides on Bird Reproduction: A Novel Model for Risk Assessment

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, many bird populations around the world show signs of trouble—in our specific case not because of gas exposure, but because of pesticide exposure. Unlike the canary in the coal mine, the endpoints for assessing pesticide exposure are not only related to death, but also to a variety of effects that involve the birds’ eggs.
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