Global study shows pesticides are a major contributor to the biodiversity crisis
And finally, a study carried out by an international research team (including the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH) and the University of Sussex) has found that pesticides are causing overwhelming negative effects on hundreds of species of microorganisms, plants, insects, fish, birds and mammals that they are not intended to harm.
Wide-ranging negative effects were seen for over 800 species found on land and in water, including impacts on how fast they grow, their reproductive success, and even behaviour such as their ability to catch prey, find plants to forage upon, move, or attract mates. Pesticides can also affect organisms’ metabolism and damage cells.
Professor Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex said: “It is often assumed that pesticides are toxic primarily to the target pest and closely related organisms, but this is clearly not true. Concerningly, we found pervasive negative impacts across plants, animals, fungi and microbes, threatening the integrity of ecosystems.”
