Pesticide blamed for bee deaths linked to bird declines
By Geoffrey Mohan, Los Angeles Times
A class of pesticides linked to the catastrophic collapse of bee colonies has now been linked to declines in bird populations, according to a Dutch study.
The researchers found a strong correlation between pesticide concentrations measured in surface freshwater and lower or negative local population growth rates of 14 species of birds since the introduction of the pesticide imidacloprid in the Netherlands in the 1990s, according to a study published online Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The chemical belongs to the neonicotinoid family of pesticides, which have been associated with the sudden collapse of colonies of domesticated honeybees, used to pollinate food crops worldwide.