High neonicotinoid concentrations responsible for bird declines (BirdGuides)
Following the recent revelation in a review of systematic pesticides that neonicotinoids are causing significant damage to invertebrate species and their populations a new study, published in the science journal Nature has revealed that the pesticides are also having a significant negative impact on bird species. Researchers in The Netherlands measured the effect of widespread use of a popular neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, discovering that when the chemical was highly concentrated in surface water supplies, local bird populations showed a significant decline. Birds most affected in the sites sampled included Starling , Tree Sparrow and Swallow . These declines were able to be tied in with the introduction of imidacloprid in the country in the mid-1990s, even when allowing for the effects of changing agricultural methods such as the intensification of farming. Tree Sparrow reproductivity relies on the abundance of insect life, on wh...