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ns.ca">naturens@cheb
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Hi everyone!
In the film that came out this past year "Songbird S.O.S." they showed a fi=
eld researcher measuring and weighing swallows, this was in Western Canada =
somewhere if I recall. The person doing the work commented that the swallow=
s were underweight compared to past norms. The adults and the young were no=
t getting enough insects, she speculated. Then she went into research being=
done to analyse water samples, and one finding is that certain pesticides =
are accumulating in the watersheds, and not breaking down as they are "supp=
osed" to do. So run-off from the farming activities is affecting building u=
p and the concentrations in creeks, swamps etc is much higher than suspecte=
d in many areas.
This would naturally affect many flying insects, as many flying species hav=
e the egg and nymph stage in water. From the standing waters, the mosquitoe=
s, damselflies, etc. emerge. If the pesticides are present in the water, fl=
ying insects will be affected, most definitely.=C2=A0
The birds which are exclusive insectivores, such as swifts and swallows, fo=
r example, should be on the front line in terms of decline...but all birds =
feeding young on insects will feel the impact, is my guess. And that's most=
songbirds.=C2=A0
A friend of mine spends half the year in Germany. He said the air pollution=
there is so bad, he comes back sick every year. The doctor he saw there to=
ld him not to ride his bike when the farm tractors were out in the fields, =
as they would be spraying, and he sees so many people with breathing proble=
ms then. The tractors there are huge, and the agricultural model is industr=
ial to the hilt--most of what's grown is corn in many areas, and this goes =
to feed pigs--the main meat consumed in Germany. They farm intensively beca=
use the population is large, and growing. Every square inch is pressed into=
farming. The areas of protected space are still contaminated by the same a=
ir and water from the farm fields.=C2=A0
Corn and soybeans are crops where virtually all seed is coated with neonics=
, and the act of planting actually creates toxic dust which spreads everywh=
ere with the wind, besides contaminating the soil, which is then rinsed and=
spread by rain into the watershed.
Have they studied bird populations in Germany? I can't imagine they would b=
e doing very well.=C2=A0
Can't imagine these widespread insecticides are good for amphibians or fish=
either.
I used to live on P.E.I. and agriculture is everywhere there. The gov't doe=
sn't like people talking about it, but there are many fish kills every year=
from farm "run-off"--that doesn't make the tourist brochures.
As the researchers (in the linked article) state, the overall loss of insec=
t biomass is sure to have impacts across the board.
Carmel Smith
Midville Branch On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, 4:58:21 PM AST, Laviolette=
, Lance <lance.laviolette@lmco.com> wrote: =20
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To summarize, the authors speculate that while habitat loss and climate cha=
nge have an effect, they point to agricultural intensification as probably =
the main cause.=20
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Lance
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From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca]O=
n Behalf Of Helene Van Doninck
Sent: November 7, 2017 12:16 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: EXTERNAL: Re: [NatureNS] Insect decline
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That would be my guess..though I haven't read it yet either.=C2=A0
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=C2=A0
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Helene
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Helene Van Doninck DVM
=20
Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
=20
2220 Irwin Lake Rd Brookfield NS Canada B0N1C0
902-893-0253
helene.birdvet@gmail.com
www.cwrc.net
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Find us on Facebook=C2=A0and Twitter
=20
****Wildlife Matters****
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=C2=A0
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On Tue, Nov 7, 2017 at 12:53 PM, Stephen Shaw <srshaw@dal.ca> wrote:
=20
Saw this too but haven=E2=80=99t read the original article.
The pr=C3=A9cis of the study abstracted elsewhere, however, says that =E2=
=80=9CThe authors say that this huge unrecognized loss cannot be sufficient=
ly explained by changes in weather, land use or habitat=E2=80=9D.
So what does that leave as an explanation, pesticide use?
Steve
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On Nov 7, 2017, at 11:43 AM, Laviolette, Lance <lance.laviolette@lmco.com> =
wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> We have had some discussion about the decline of insects in Nova Scotia. =
A study published in the online scientific journal PLOS ONE indicates that =
there has been a dramatic decline in average airborne insect biomass of 76%=
(up to 82% in midsummer) in just 27 years for 63 protected nature areas in=
Germany.
>
> Their results demonstrate that recently reported declines in several taxa=
such as butterflies, wild bees and moths, are in parallel with a severe lo=
ss of total aerial insect biomass, suggesting that it is not only the vulne=
rable species, but the flying insect community as a whole, that has been de=
cimated over the last few decades.
>
> It is particularly concerning since these measurements were made in prote=
cted nature areas and not in those areas impacted by more extensive human a=
ctivity.
>
> Here is a link to the paper:
> http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=3D10.1371/journal.pone.018580=
9
>
> Cheers,
>
> Lance
>
> Lance Laviolette
> Glen Robertson, Ontario
>
>
>
>
>
>
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<div>Hi everyone!</div><div><br></div><div>In the film that cam=
e out this past year "Songbird S.O.S." they showed a field researcher measu=
ring and weighing swallows, this was in Western Canada somewhere if I recal=
l. The person doing the work commented that the swallows were underweight c=
ompared to past norms. The adults and the young were not getting enough ins=
ects, she speculated. Then she went into research be