Insecticides Lead to Starvation of Aquatic Organisms

May 15, 2013 — Neonicotinoid insecticides have adverse effects not only on bees but also on freshwater invertebrates. Exposure to low but constant concentrations of these substances -- which are highly soluble in water -- has lethal effects on these aquatic organisms.

At the end of April, the EU imposed a 2-year ban on the use of neurotoxic agents belonging to the neonicotinoid group. In Switzerland, the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) has followed suit, suspending the authorizations of three insecticides used on oilseed rape and maize fields. These measures have been taken in response to evidence that neonicotinoids are toxic to honeybees and are contributing to the decline of bee colonies.

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'Red Tide' Species Is Deadlier Than First Thought

ScienceDaily (July 23, 2012) — A University of Connecticut researcher and his team have discovered that a species of tiny aquatic organism prominent in harmful algal blooms sometimes called "red tide" is even deadlier than first thought, with potential consequences for entire marine food chains.

Professor Hans Dam and his research group in the school's Department of Marine Sciences have discovered that the plankton speciesAlexandrium tamarense contains not one but two different types of toxins, one that's deadly to large organisms and one that's deadly to small predators.

"If it's killing multicellular animals with one toxin and small protists with another, it could be the killer of the ocean world," he says.

Dam speculates that this ability to harm both large and small oceanic predators could lead to disruptions in the marine food web during large Alexandrium blooms, like the red tide that occurred along the Northeast coast in 2005, severely affecting the Cape Cod area.

Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120723134743.htm