Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Their Impacts on Bees: A Systematic Review of Research Approaches and Identification of Knowledge Gaps.
Lundin, Ola LU ; Rundlöf, Maj LU
; Smith, Henrik
LU
; Fries, Ingemar
and Bommarco, Riccardo
LU
(2015)
In PLoS ONE
10(8).
- Abstract
- It has been suggested that the widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides threatens bees, but research on this topic has been surrounded by controversy. In order to synthesize which research approaches have been used to examine the effect of neonicotinoids on bees and to identify knowledge gaps, we systematically reviewed research on this subject that was available on the Web of Science and PubMed in June 2015. Most of the 216 primary research studies were conducted in Europe or North America (82%), involved the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (78%), and concerned the western honey bee Apis mellifera (75%). Thus, little seems to be known about neonicotinoids and bees in areas outside Europe and North America. Furthermore, because there is... (More)
- It has been suggested that the widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides threatens bees, but research on this topic has been surrounded by controversy. In order to synthesize which research approaches have been used to examine the effect of neonicotinoids on bees and to identify knowledge gaps, we systematically reviewed research on this subject that was available on the Web of Science and PubMed in June 2015. Most of the 216 primary research studies were conducted in Europe or North America (82%), involved the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (78%), and concerned the western honey bee Apis mellifera (75%). Thus, little seems to be known about neonicotinoids and bees in areas outside Europe and North America. Furthermore, because there is considerable variation in ecological traits among bee taxa, studies on honey bees are not likely to fully predict impacts of neonicotinoids on other species. Studies on crops were dominated by seed-treated maize, oilseed rape (canola) and sunflower, whereas less is known about potential side effects on bees from the use of other application methods on insect pollinated fruit and vegetable crops, or on lawns and ornamental plants. Laboratory approaches were most common, and we suggest that their capability to infer real-world consequences are improved when combined with information from field studies about realistic exposures to neonicotinoids. Studies using field approaches often examined only bee exposure to neonicotinoids and more field studies are needed that measure impacts of exposure. Most studies measured effects on individual bees. We suggest that effects on the individual bee should be linked to both mechanisms at the sub-individual level and also to the consequences for the colony and wider bee populations. As bees are increasingly facing multiple interacting pressures future research needs to clarify the role of neonicotinoids in relative to other drivers of bee declines. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7794205
- author
- Lundin, Ola
LU
; Rundlöf, Maj
LU
; Smith, Henrik
LU
; Fries, Ingemar
and Bommarco, Riccardo
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2015
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- PLoS ONE
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 8
- article number
- e0136928
- publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:26313444
- wos:000360144000108
- scopus:84943328967
- pmid:26313444
- ISSN
- 1932-6203
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pone.0136928
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 21eebbd4-f936-4d51-8291-0d0acadd0d75 (old id 7794205)
- alternative location
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26313444?dopt=Abstract
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:08:56
- date last changed
- 2024-05-09 02:38:02
@article{21eebbd4-f936-4d51-8291-0d0acadd0d75,
abstract = {{It has been suggested that the widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides threatens bees, but research on this topic has been surrounded by controversy. In order to synthesize which research approaches have been used to examine the effect of neonicotinoids on bees and to identify knowledge gaps, we systematically reviewed research on this subject that was available on the Web of Science and PubMed in June 2015. Most of the 216 primary research studies were conducted in Europe or North America (82%), involved the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (78%), and concerned the western honey bee Apis mellifera (75%). Thus, little seems to be known about neonicotinoids and bees in areas outside Europe and North America. Furthermore, because there is considerable variation in ecological traits among bee taxa, studies on honey bees are not likely to fully predict impacts of neonicotinoids on other species. Studies on crops were dominated by seed-treated maize, oilseed rape (canola) and sunflower, whereas less is known about potential side effects on bees from the use of other application methods on insect pollinated fruit and vegetable crops, or on lawns and ornamental plants. Laboratory approaches were most common, and we suggest that their capability to infer real-world consequences are improved when combined with information from field studies about realistic exposures to neonicotinoids. Studies using field approaches often examined only bee exposure to neonicotinoids and more field studies are needed that measure impacts of exposure. Most studies measured effects on individual bees. We suggest that effects on the individual bee should be linked to both mechanisms at the sub-individual level and also to the consequences for the colony and wider bee populations. As bees are increasingly facing multiple interacting pressures future research needs to clarify the role of neonicotinoids in relative to other drivers of bee declines.}},
author = {{Lundin, Ola and Rundlöf, Maj and Smith, Henrik and Fries, Ingemar and Bommarco, Riccardo}},
issn = {{1932-6203}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{8}},
publisher = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
series = {{PLoS ONE}},
title = {{Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Their Impacts on Bees: A Systematic Review of Research Approaches and Identification of Knowledge Gaps.}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136928}},
doi = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0136928}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2015}},
}