Gibbons David, Morrissey Christy, Mineau Pierre
RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK,
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2015 Jan;22(1):103-18. doi: 10.1007/s11356-014-3180-5. Epub 2014 Jun 18.
Concerns over the role of pesticides affecting vertebrate wildlife populations have recently focussed on systemic products which exert broad-spectrum toxicity. Given that the neonicotinoids have become the fastest-growing class of insecticides globally, we review here 150 studies of their direct (toxic) and indirect (e.g. food chain) effects on vertebrate wildlife--mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles. We focus on two neonicotinoids, imidacloprid and clothianidin, and a third insecticide, fipronil, which also acts in the same systemic manner. Imidacloprid and fipronil were found to be toxic to many birds and most fish, respectively. All three insecticides exert sub-lethal effects, ranging from genotoxic and cytotoxic effects, and impaired immune function, to reduced growth and reproductive success, often at concentrations well below those associated with mortality. Use of imidacloprid and clothianidin as seed treatments on some crops poses risks to small birds, and ingestion of even a few treated seeds could cause mortality or reproductive impairment to sensitive bird species. In contrast, environmental concentrations of imidacloprid and clothianidin appear to be at levels below those which will cause mortality to freshwater vertebrates, although sub-lethal effects may occur. Some recorded environmental concentrations of fipronil, however, may be sufficiently high to harm fish. Indirect effects are rarely considered in risk assessment processes and there is a paucity of data, despite the potential to exert population-level effects. Our research revealed two field case studies of indirect effects. In one, reductions in invertebrate prey from both imidacloprid and fipronil uses led to impaired growth in a fish species, and in another, reductions in populations in two lizard species were linked to effects of fipronil on termite prey. Evidence presented here suggests that the systemic insecticides, neonicotinoids and fipronil, are capable of exerting direct and indirect effects on terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate wildlife, thus warranting further review of their environmental safety.
近期，人们对农药影响脊椎动物野生种群的作用的担忧集中在具有广谱毒性的内吸性产品上。鉴于新烟碱类已成为全球增长最快的杀虫剂类别，我们在此回顾了150项关于它们对脊椎动物野生种群（哺乳动物、鸟类、鱼类、两栖动物和爬行动物）的直接（毒性）和间接（如食物链）影响的研究。我们重点关注两种新烟碱类农药，吡虫啉和噻虫胺，以及第三种同样以内吸方式起作用的杀虫剂氟虫腈。结果发现，吡虫啉和氟虫腈分别对许多鸟类和大多数鱼类有毒。这三种杀虫剂都会产生亚致死效应，从遗传毒性和细胞毒性效应、免疫功能受损，到生长和繁殖成功率降低，而且往往在远低于致死浓度的情况下就会出现这些效应。在某些作物上使用吡虫啉和噻虫胺进行种子处理对小型鸟类构成风险，即使只摄入少量经过处理的种子也可能导致敏感鸟类物种死亡或繁殖受损。相比之下，吡虫啉和噻虫胺的环境浓度似乎低于会导致淡水脊椎动物死亡的水平，不过可能会出现亚致死效应。然而，一些记录到的氟虫腈环境浓度可能高到足以危害鱼类。在风险评估过程中很少考虑间接影响，而且尽管有可能产生种群水平的影响，但相关数据却很匮乏。我们的研究揭示了两个间接影响的实地案例研究。在一个案例中，使用吡虫啉和氟虫腈导致无脊椎动物猎物减少，进而致使一种鱼类生长受损；在另一个案例中，两种蜥蜴物种数量减少与氟虫腈对其白蚁猎物的影响有关。此处提供的证据表明，内吸性杀虫剂新烟碱类和氟虫腈能够对陆生和水生脊椎动物野生种群产生直接和间接影响，因此有必要对其环境安全性进行进一步审查。
