Using a library of more than 1,000 agrochemicals, scientists saw significant changes in behaviour and long-term survival of different insect populations.
Summary
- Employing a library of more than 1,000 chemicals, EMBL scientists, in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur, Heidelberg University Hospital and George Washington University, investigated how agrochemicals affect insect populations.
- The scientists found that exposure to non-fatal amounts of 57% of the chemicals altered behaviour in fruit fly larvae, while higher levels compromised long-term survival after acute exposure.
- These observations were worsened when the ambient temperature increased by four degrees.
- An expanded investigation including mosquitoes and butterflies resulted in similar behavioural changes.
- These findings underscore that chemical use contributes to worldwide insect population decline by adversely affecting development and behaviours – findings that provide avenues to improve chemical safety assessment, environmental protection, food security, and animal and human health.
Read the full press release on EMBL’s website: https://www.embl.org/news/science-technology/agrchemicals-and-declining-insect-populations/
Source :
Pervasive sublethal effects of agrochemicals on insects at environmentally relevant concentrations, Science, October 24, 2024
Lautaro Gandara, Richard Jacoby, François Laurent, Matteo Spatuzzi, Nikolaos Vlachopoulos, Noa O. Borst, Gülina Ekmen, Clement M. Potel, Martin Garrido-Rodriguez, Antonia L. Böhmert, Natalia Misunou, Bartosz J. Bartmanski, Xueying C. Li, Dominik Kutra, Jean-Karim Hériché, Christian Tischer, Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva, Victoria Ingham, Mikhail M. Savitski, Jean-Baptiste Masson, Michael Zimmermann, Justin Crocker
DOI : DOI: 10.1126/science.ado0251