Distribution and impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on agricultural wetlands and water birds of Prairie Canada

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Populations of insectivorous farmland and wetland birds have declined severely throughout North America and Europe and several studies point to agricultural intensification and the increasing use of pesticides as major contributing factors. Indirect effects of pesticides, operating through the food chain, have been proposed as a possible causal factor in the decline of farmland bird species. A relatively new class of systemic insecticides, the neonicotinoids, were first registered in Canada between 1998-2003 and are now widely used in the Prairie region for treatment of seeds for canola and other oilseeds, cereal crops and corn among other pest control applications. Use of neonicotinoids worldwide is currently increasing faster than other insecticides including carbamates, organophosphates and pyrethroids, largely due to their utility as a seed treatment, their high plant systemic activity in combination with reduced effectiveness and health concerns of other neuroactive