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The side effects from the use of plant protection products and their potential effects on non-target arthropods (NTAs) such as honey bees, other insects within the vegetation layer and epigeic arthropods nowadays receive more attention. However, uncertainties about the factors driving the deposition of active substances (a.s.) into off-crop areas persist, in particular during sowing of treated seeds. Analysing a highly standardised 8-year field experiment, we assessed the importance of various factors potentially affecting dust drift and deposition of a.s., emitted during the sowing process of treated seeds and deposited on fields adjacent to the drilling field, i.e. on the ground, on flowers, and on nonflowering plant parts. Regarding a.s. deposition, the Heubach a.s. value has a predictive capability, which is independent from all other factors taken into account in this study, and can thus be considered as a scenario-independent measure of potential dust deposition. Petri dish samplers, an established standard method for measuring a.s. deposition, were representative of the results from the plant samplers for a given combination of drilling technique and adjacent crop type. Adjacent crop type is likely to impact on a.s. deposition. The present work will enable a more field-realistic exposure assessment for bees and other NTAs. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-15247-w.

An inventory and review of current pesticide regulatory risk assessment procedures for bees and other pollinators is presented. For North America, the European Union, Brazil, China, and Australia, the work is based on a review of the published literature, covering pesticide regulatory risk assessment approaches of high-income countries. For low- and middle income countries in the African, Pacific and Caribbean region, the work is based on an online questionnaire, conducted during the summer of 2021, followed by ad-hoc questions for further details and clarifications. In hindsight, the focus on the above-mentioned high-income countries is justified, as the expectations were met that it is a widespread practice for low- and middle-income countries to consult assessments by APVMA (Australia), USEPA (USA) and EFSA (European Union). Protection goals in the published approaches focus on bees, especially the honey bee as a prevailing model organism. Approaches incorporating further taxa, in particular with regard to local pollination services, may be adopted in the future, but are currently prevented by knowledge gaps. All established risk assessment procedures follow a tiered approach, and establishing a lower-tier system in regions currently lacking risk assessment procedures is a much more important step toward improved pollinator protection compared to risk refinement at higher tiers. Several established risk assessment approaches include toxicity classification, which are similar to each other in general, offering an opportunity to assess risks at a screening level without data on exposure. However, basic toxicity data on pesticides are currently not required at all in many low- and middle-income countries. Thus, establishment of a general requirement of data on acute toxicity for honey bees would markedly improve risk assessment in these countries, given that obtaining and assessing such data is a comparatively standardized endeavour and not particular resource demanding. Exposure is handled in different ways by the established risk assessment procedures, with similarities in considered application methods, but marked differences between further parameters of exposure scenarios, e.g. regarding spatial and temporal relation between pesticide application and exposure event, contaminated matrices considered etc. There is a general consensus in the established risk assessment procedures with regard to adopted guidelines and guidance documents used for effect assessment. Approaches established by EPPO, EFSA and USEPA all compare exposure-toxicity quotients to predefined levels of concern for identification of unresolved unacceptable risks to bees, while the calculative basis for these quotients and/or threshold values differs between these approaches, reflecting particular application or situation specific factors or models, accounting inter alia for background mortality, interspecific extrapolation, uncertainty, measured residue data. The other established risk assessment procedures largely follow the approaches of EPPO, EFSA or USEPA. Risk enveloping might offer a resource saving strategy to assess risks of pesticides with similar use patterns in similar cropping systems, and adopting an approach similar to a working example set by IBAMA in Brazil might be feasible, at least for similar geographic regions, given that there are some commonalities in pollinator depend crops among the surveyed low- and middle-income countries. Risk management and uncertainty analysis should always be linked to the risk assessment at all stages, and resulting risk mitigation measures should be practicable in the local agricultural context and comprehensible, while not compromising product efficacy., Berichte aus dem Julius Kühn-Institut, vol. 219

Monitoring of wild bees is becoming more and more popular in nature conservation because of the high indicator value of this insect group. However, uncertainties about the sampling performance of different methods still exist, especially in areas of limited accessibility. We therefore compared four commonly applied sampling methods across vineyard fallows in a species diverse study area over two successive years: hand netting along variable transects (HN), pan traps (PT), trap nests (TN) and Malaise traps (MT). The chosen method significantly affects the number of sampled bee species and individuals, with PT sampling by far the largest number of species and individuals, and HN sampling the most diverse bee fauna. HN samples contained a significantly higher proportion of males, red-listed, large and social Bombus species than PT, but HN and PT samples contained a significantly lower proportion of male individuals compared to MT and TN. PT colour had a significant effect on the number of sampled individuals and species, with yellow PT sampling the largest numbers, while blue PT sampled the largest number of individuals of social Bombus species. The HN sampling results of an experienced and a less-experienced observer differed remarkably, with the turnover component of the Jaccard distance being significantly higher compared to the nestedness component. Our findings indicate that PT was the most efficient method for sampling bees in our study system. Due to species-specific differences in attractivity, sets of different PT colours should be used. However, if the study focus is on red-listed species or male individuals, HN represents a more efficient method. When HN is applied, observer bias should be considered as much as possible, especially with regard to differences in sampling experience. Due to different shortcomings, MT and TN cannot be seen as appropriate methods for standard monitoring of bees.

EKLIPSE received a request by Pollinis on the 30th of June 2018, to produce an overview of the current knowledge and research gaps related to the impacts of pesticide and fertilizer use in farmland on the effectiveness of adjacent pollinator conservation measures. The call was answered through a Joint Fact Finding approach, including a workshop on the 9-10th Jan, 2020 at the Helmholtz Association, Brussels. This report documents the preparatory steps leading to the workshop, the deliberations during the workshop, as well as a summary of the main results and conclusions.A team of knowledge-holders, representing various perspectives, sectors and disciplines, was selected and invited to collate and share their trusted sources of knowledge on the topic. These sources could be reports, scientific papers, articles or online resources, and may not have previously been available to all parties. This body of information was evaluated for relevance to produce the preliminary document that was used as a basis for discussions during the workshop in Brussels. The workshop brought together a team of experts from academia, NGOs, beekeeper organisations, industry, and the requester organisation (Pollinis). The participants discussed the key findings from the identified evidence and knowledge gaps during the first day and identified a list of key research needs and policy recommendations during the second day. In addition to the research needs related to specific conservation measures, several cross-cutting themes emerged during the deliberations. The list of knowledge gaps were scored by the participants based on importance, feasibility and policy impact. Finally a list of policy recommendations were produced based on the outputs of the workshop.

Cities are emerging as refugia for pollinators, among which bees play a pivotal role for maintaining ecosystem functioning in agricultural and urban settings. While measures to promote bees have been investigated predominantly in the agricultural or rural context, a wide knowledge gap persists with regard to the effectiveness of such measures within urban landscapes. In order to guide research addressing this lack of knowledge, the aim of this perspective paper is to give an overview of the recent research activities based on the published peer-reviewed literature. While research on flower seed mixtures in general focuses on nutritional aspects, studies on plantings of perennial herbs are relatively limited to few plant taxa. Implementation of comparable case studies investigating the effects of tree plantings on bee populations is hampered by a lack of methodological standardization. The conservation value of providing nesting sites in cities needs to be further investigated, in particular concerning ground-nesting bee species. While several case studies indicate a nutritional supporting function of green roofs for urban bee populations, findings with regard to vertical isolation remain equivocal. Various factors driving bee diversity and population structure in the urban context at the local and landscape scale have been identified, the reported relevant landscape scale being represented by radii between 500 and 1000 m in most cases. Future study designs reflecting a continuous and complete gradient of urbanization will be helpful in comparing results on bee promoting measures in agricultural landscapes (which are numerous) to urban settings (which are still encountered much less frequently). Studies looking into the genetic structure of bee populations with regard to urbanization so far represent only a tiny fraction of bee diversity, and the further development of molecular methods could yield novel tools for assessing the success of bee promoting measures in terms of habitat connectivity in the near future., Journal of Cultivated Plants, Bd. 72 Nr. 5 (2020): Themenheft Bienenschutz

Von 2012 bis 2013 wurden Wildbienen in Weinbausteillagen mittels Sichtfang, Farbschalen und Malaise-Fallen erfasst. Aus 3246 bestimmten Individuen resultierten 159 nachgewiesene Wildbienenarten. Fast ein Drittel der erfassten Arten ist als bestandsgefahrdet zu bezeichnen oder von Bestandsruckgangen betroffen. Im Vergleich mit Erfassungsergebnissen aus dem naheren Umkreis deuten die vorliegenden Ergebnisse auf eine grose Bedeutung der untersuchten Weinbausteillagen als (Teil-)Lebensraume hin, die der regionalen Artenvielfalt der Bienen zugrunde liegen., Beiträge zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology, Bd. 68 Nr. 1 (2018)

Master's thesis in Environmental engineering Phosphorous is the limiting nutrient for primary production in freshwater systems and excessively applied as inorganic fertilizer in agriculture. Elevated phosphorous concentrations in recipients can cause eutrophication which reduces the recipient water quality. The main focus of this study is to investigate the retention of phosphorous in a mature constructed wetland and the phosphorous uptake and removal in/with plant biomass. The constructed wetland studied is a two pond free water surface system treating agricultural runoff to improve the water quality of the adjacent recipient. The investigation of the phosphorous retention includes determination of retention of different phosphorous fractions, and how their retention is influenced by other parameters. Furthermore, the uptake of phosphorous by plants is studied and the amount of phosphorous that can be removed by harvesting vegetation is determined. The determination of phosphorous retention/removal by physiogeochemical and biological processes was achieved by performing weekly analyses of water and plant samples. Water samples were analyzed for total phosphorous, total dissolved phosphorous and phosphate. Additional analysis of total and dissolved iron, turbidity, total suspended solids, and color were performed to identify a possible impact on phosphorous retention. Plant samples were analyzed for total phosphorous content in root, stem and leave. The total phosphorous retention efficiency in the constructed wetland was 31 %, which accounts for 19.9 kg P/year. The phosphate retention was only 3 %, which accounts for 0.3 kg P/year. The total amount of phosphorous that could be removed by harvesting vegetation of one pond once a year was 2.42 kg P/year, which accounts for 4 % of the total phosphorous mass entering the wetland per year. The sedimentation zones in the constructed wetland are filled up with sediment, which causes particle wash-out at high hydraulic loadings and a low retention of phosphorus. Sediment conditions are not favorable for phosphate retention, as adsorption sites are saturated and precipitation with iron cannot occur. The latter may be due to anaerobic conditions during winter and a too high pH-value. The efficient phosphorous retention depends on the regular sediment and/or biomass withdrawal and the avoidance of peak flow sediment wash out by implementing a storm water by-passing.

Global human population growth is associated with many problems, such as food and water provision, political conflicts, spread of diseases, and environmental destruction. The mitigation of these problems is mirrored in several global conventions and programs, some of which, however, are conflicting. Here, we discuss the conflicts between biodiversity conservation and disease eradication. Numerous health programs aim at eradicating pathogens, and many focus on the eradication of vectors, such as mosquitos or other parasites. As a case study, we focus on the “Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign,” which aims at eradicating a pathogen (Trypanosoma) as well as its vector, the entire group of tsetse flies (Glossinidae). As the distribution of tsetse flies largely overlaps with the African hotspots of freshwater biodiversity, we argue for a strong consideration of environmental issues when applying vector control measures, especially the aerial applications of insecticides. Furthermore, we want to stimulate discussions on the value of species and whether full eradication of a pathogen or vector is justified at all. Finally, we call for a stronger harmonization of international conventions. Proper environmental impact assessments need to be conducted before control or eradication programs are carried out to minimize negative effects on biodiversity.

The Argentine Ant, Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is one of the world's most successful invasive species and invades undisturbed Fynbos habitats in South Africa, displacing native arthropod species and affecting interspecific associations. In order to assess the impact of Li. humile on native ant assemblages and associations between ants and myrmecophilous butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) on the western slopes of Table Mountain (Cape Town, South Africa), adult butterfly density was scored and distribution of food plants were assessed at two sites.

The need for alternatives to amniocentesis, beset by 1% abortion rate, has been increasingly voiced over the past years and also includes the under 35 age group. However, the known age-dependent screening programs such as Alpha program according to Wald (1988) and the Dermalog Program according to Norgaard-Pederson (1990) only yield a detection rate of 50 or, at best, 70% (Müller, 1992) for this age group. We tried to improve this result by index calculation. Compared to the tested age-dependent screening programs the Ulm Index achieves a 25 to 40% higher detection rate (85%). For pregnant women beyond 35 years the detection rate of Down's syndrome can even be raised to 95-100% by a combination of the Alpha or Dermalog program with the Ulm Index, without entailling an increase in the rate of false-positive results.

With the aid of two commercially available analysis programmes we effected non-invasive assessment of the risk for Down's syndrome in 597 pregnancies with healthy fetuses and in 22 pregnancies with trisomie 21-affected fetuses, maternal age ranging between 18 and 45 years. Based on the women's serum levels, hormone concentrations of AFP, free estriol and beta HCG were determined, a multiple of their median was combined with the age factor, and the result used as a parameter for overall risk estimation. A risk cut-off-level greater then 1:250 was considered to represent a positive risk. For patients younger than 35 years test sensitivity, at just over 50%, was found to be low. For those aged 35 years or greater, however, the Dermalog programme was able to detect 94.4% and the Alpha programme 88.2% of fetuses affected by trisomy 21, with a false-positive rate of 19.6 and 19.1%, respectively. If the test were to be applied to all pregnant women beyond 35 years of age the detection rate of Down's syndrome could be nearly doubled compared to today's figure (only 50%, of women in this age group undergo amniocentesis). By the same token the rate of amniocentesis-induced abortion (approx. 1%) could be reduced to about one third.

von Heinrich Krahner

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