Vertebrate wildlife incidents with pesticides: a european survey

A survey was carried out to investigate terrestrial wildlife incidents with pesticides in 18 European countries over the period 1990–1994. Only in seven countries does a systematic incident registration system exist. Compared with the other countries, relatively high numbers of incidents were registered in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Over 1000 incidents were investigated to establish their causes: approved use, misuse or deliberate abuse, and the compounds, species and mode of application involved. It was found that most registered incidents are due to deliberate abuse. Approved use is responsible for only a minor fraction of the incidents, and these are due to particular practices such as use of treated seed, bait or wood preservatives and the spraying of grassland. Hardly any incidents were due to crop-spraying. The reason why so few incidents are registered for normal crop-spraying is discussed: do they not occur, or are the casualties not registered? It is doubtful whether incident registration is a reliable instrument for obtaining a proper understanding of the occurrence of the side-effects of agricultural pesticide use. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Anaesthetic properties of Propiscin (Etomidaat) and 2-phenoxyethanol in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.), neural and behavioural measures

The objective of the study was to evaluate the anaesthetic effects of Propiscin (2% etomidate) and 2-phenoxyethanol on common carp ( Cyprinus carpio L.) by observing neural and behavioural measures. When exposed to the anaesthetic agent, the carp lost equilibrium after approximately 90 s of exposure. They did not breathe and the controls did not respond to tail pinch or prick or 6 V at the skin of the upper jaw. A shift to lower frequencies on the electroencephalogram (EEG) and computing fast Fourier transformation was observed when exposed to water containing Propiscin or 2-phenoxyethanol. Heart rate was reduced after placement in the water containing an anaesthetic agent. It may be concluded from our results that common carp were immobilized and sedated, when exposed to water containing 2 mL L⁻¹ Propiscin and immobilized and anaesthetized in water containing 0.5 mL L⁻¹ 2-phenoxyethanol. In addition, the use of EEG provides for a sound assessment of exposure of carp to these anaesthetics.     

Evaluation of electrical stunning of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) in seawater and killing by chilling: welfare aspects, product quality and possibilities for implementation

The objective was to assess neural, behavioural responses and product quality in farmed sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) upon electrical stunning in seawater. The electrical sinusoidal 50 Hz or pulse square wave alternating 133 Hz current induced a general epileptiform insult with a current of 3.3±0.2 or 3 A dm^?2, respectively, for 1 s head to tail in seawater. The total duration of the insult was 48±34 and 23±11 s. After stunning, the electro‐cardiogram revealed fibrillation and ceased or showed malfunction. Product quality was assessed in a group electrically stunned, followed by chilling in ice water and the controls were only chilled in ice water. The pH of the fillets was 0.1–0.2 lower (P<0.01) when stunned electrically at days 1, 2, 8 and 10 postmortem, where the colour did not differ. The percentage of sea bass effectively stunned using an electrical sinusoidal or pulse square wave current was above 85% within a confidence level of 95%. A combination of electrical stunning for 10 s, followed by chilling in seawater with ice flakes resulted in the death of all fish. The former method is recommended to be adapted for implementation in practice.     

Cover Image,Volume 76, Issue 8

The cover image is based on the Review Identifying drivers of spatio‐temporal dynamics in barley yellow dwarf virus epidemiology as a critical factor in disease control by Renik Van den Eynde et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5851 .

     

Water erosion assessment using farmers' indicators in the West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

The contribution of local knowledge to ecological sciences has not been fully exploited: there is still a gap between the recognition of farmers' knowledge as valid and an effective use of such knowledge in activities aimed at sustainable development. This study explores the use of farmers' indicators of erosion for developing a rapid tool for water erosion assessment at field level in the West Usambara Mountains (Tanzania). Two extensive field surveys were conducted in the research area concurrently. One survey consisted of applying an established erosion assessment method, the Assessment of Current Erosion Damage (ACED). According to the erosion features observed, fields were classified into five erosion classes, from very slightly eroded to very severely eroded. The second survey consisted of recording the type and number of indicators of erosion listed by farmers and present in the fields. The number of farmers' indicators per field increased with erosion intensity, from less than four in slightly eroded fields to more than eight in severely eroded fields. All farmers' indicators were positively correlated to the ACED erosion assessment classes. However, two groups of farmers' indicators could be distinguished in terms of erosion assessment: strong indicators, which were observed in more than 70% of cases in severely eroded fields, and weak indicators, which were observed more frequently in slightly and moderately eroded fields. Weak indicators appeared to be indicative of other land degradation phenomena, such as chemical fertility decline. Strong indicators and number of indicators were used to create a field erosion assessment tool in the form of a classification tree. The tree was built using one half of the field survey data and validated using the other half. The tree consisted of a hierarchical sequence of questions. Presence of rills and number of farmers' indicators were the most important factors of the tree. The validation yielded a highly significant Spearman's rho correlation coefficient (0.81). The contingency table showed that more than 80% of very severely eroded fields were correctly classified, whereas most misclassification occurred among slightly and moderately eroded fields. Farmers include land degradation phenomena and soil fertility decline in their definition of soil erosion. Soil and water conservation planning should address this broader farmers' perception by including, e.g., soil fertility improvements beside soil conservation. The distinction between strong and weak indicators of erosion is important in recommending the right intervention in the right spot, e.g., by counteracting soil erosion where strong indicators are present and by improving chemical fertility where weak indicators are present. The classification tree is of empirical nature and may need adaptation before being applied to other areas. The proposed methodology can be easily replicated and showed a high potential to provide extensionists with a field tool for erosion assessment. The classification tree was a successful example of integrating different types of knowledge for enhancing the co-operation between stakeholders involved in the erosion-control activities.     

Evaluation of dry ashing in conjunction with ion chromatographic determination of transition metal ions in pig feed samples

The contents of transition metal ions iron, copper, zinc, and manganese were simultaneously determined in pig feed using an ion chromatographic technique (IC) preceded by dry ashing. Employing ion exchange, the ions were separated on an IonPac CS5A column used in combination with a pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid based eluent. The separation was followed by spectrophotometric detection after postcolumn reaction with 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol. Dry ashing parameters were varied to assess their role in potential analyte loss. Quantitative recoveries (>95%) were obtained for all analytes with a dry ashing method that included a moderate temperature-time regime and ash leaching support in the form of sonication and heat treatment. The use of HCl as leaching acid and the presence of alkaline earths in the matrix solution did not interfere with the chromatographic separation.     

Formation and accumulation of alpha-acids,beta-acids,desmethylxanthohumol, and xanthohumol during flowering of hops (Humulus lupulus L.)

Important secondary metabolites, present in hops (Humulus lupulus L.), include alpha-acids and beta-acids, which are essential for the brewing of beer, as well as the prenylated chalcones, desmethylxanthohumol, and xanthohumol, which exhibit interesting bioactive properties. Their formation and accumulation in five selected hop varieties, Wye Challenger, Wye Target, Golding, Admiral, and Whitbread Golding Variety, were quantitatively monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography using UV detection. All target compounds were present from the onset of flowering, not only in female hop cones but also in male inflorescences, albeit in low concentrations. During development from female inflorescences to cones, levels of alpha-acids, beta-acids, desmethylxanthohumol, and xanthohumol gradually increased, while each hop variety exhibited individual accumulation rates. Furthermore, these compounds were present in leaves of fully grown hops as well. The study demonstrated that key compounds for flavor and potential beneficial health effects associated with beer not only reside in the glandular lupulin structures but also are distributed over various parts of the hop plant.