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

在整个北美和欧洲，食虫农田和湿地鸟类的数量严重减少，几项研究指出，农业集约化和农药使用的增加是主要的促成因素。农药通过食物链产生的间接影响被认为是农田鸟类物种减少的一个可能的原因。一种相对较新的内吸性杀虫剂，即类烟碱类杀虫剂，于1998-2003年期间首次在加拿大注册，目前广泛用于草原地区处理油菜籽和其他油籽、谷类作物和玉米的种子，以及其他害虫控制应用。目前，全球新烟碱类杀虫剂的使用增长速度快于其他杀虫剂，包括氨基甲酸酯、有机磷和拟除虫菊酯，这主要是由于它们作为种子处理剂的用途、它们的高植物全身活性以及其他神经活性杀虫剂的有效性降低和健康问题

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