Pollinators in life cycle assessment: towards a framework for impact assessment

Abstract Human activities are threatening biodiversity at an unprecedented scale and pace, thus potentially affecting also the provision of critical ecosystem services, including insect pollination. Insect pollinators play an essential functional role in terrestrial ecosystems, supporting ecological stability and food security worldwide. Therefore, assessing impact on pollinators is fundamental in any effort aiming at enhancing the environmental sustainability of human production and consumption, especially in the agri-food supply chains. Different drivers are leading to pollinator populations' declines. Improving a supply-chain oriented assessment of the occurrence of pressure and impacts on pollinators is needed. However, current methodologies assessing impact along supply chains, such as life cycle assessment (LCA), miss to assess impact on pollinators. In fact, none of the existing life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models effectively accounts for pollinators. Some LCIA models have mentioned pollination, but none has presented key drivers of impact and a proposal for integrating pollinators as target group for biodiversity protection within an LCIA framework. In order to devise a pathway towards the inclusion of impacts on pollinators in LCIA, we conducted a literature review of environmental and anthropogenic pressures acting on insect pollinators, potentially threatening pollination services. Based on the evidence in literature, we identified and described eight potential impact drivers, primarily deriving from industrial development and intensive agricultural practice: 1) intensified land use as a result of uncontrolled expansion of urban areas and modern agricultural practices; 2) use of pesticides; 3) presence of invasive alien plants; 4) competition with invasive alien pollinator species; 5) global and local climate change; 6) spread of pests and pathogens; 7) electro-magnetic pollution and 8) genetically modified crops. To account for these drivers in LCIA, there are specific modeling needs. Hence, the current study provides recommendation on how future research should be oriented to improve the current models and how novel indicators should be developed in order to cover the existing conceptual and methodological gaps

Colony collapse disorder: A peril to apiculture

Apiculture has become a profitable profession due to the high economic importance of honey and various beehive products. Honeybees are tiny social insects that perform a crucial function in the agricultural field and are necessary for good yields. Honeybees are the biological indicators of environmental health. Unforeseen rapid decrease in honeybee numbers characterized by the departure of honeybees from the colonies and accompanied by the total absence of any dead bees in the hive surrounding and inside it suggests a condition called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Pesticides, pathogens, and other ecological stresses such as nutritional deficiency may add to bee extinction or CCD. Besides this, the exposure to low-level radiofrequency and microwave radiations from mobile phones also have profound undesirable effects on honeybees. Research has shown changes in biology and behaviour which includes some undesirable changes in the biomolecules concentration in honeybees because of radiation exposure. Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF- EMF ) also affects honeybee`s immune system and navigation activities. The radiation induces emotional disturbance and genetic disorders in brood which attributes to a decline in the breeding efficiency of bees. The present review is an attempt to compile the causes of CCD and discuss the management practices to be followed by the beekeepers to avoid the devastating loss to them and the planet Earth

MOBILE PHONE AND TOWER RADIATION: A CHALLENGE TO ALL LIVING ENTITIES

Impact of electromagnetic radiation of mobile phone and it’s tower on the living entities of the globe is discussed in the article with an aim to search possible ways to solve or reduce the problems caused by them

Development of Colony Collapse Disorder in Honeybees in Schleswig-Holstein and its Relation to the Beekeeping Methods

Honeybees have important functions in terrestrial ecosystems and for biodiversity through their pollination services. We also benefit from bee products such as honey and beeswax, which are used in a variety of industries, including bakery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, water-proof polishes and candle making. Consequently, the increased number of honeybee losses, known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), will cause severe damage to ecosystems and our economy. Therefore, it has concerned many scientists and ecologists in recent years and affected many farmers and beekeepers. Although researchers have tried to determine the main causes of CCD in honeybees throughout the globe in the past decade, we still do not have sufficient knowledge of the actual factors that cause and increase death rates in honeybee colonies. On the other hand, most of the research being done in Germany on this issue is mainly focussed in the southern parts of the country. However, the weather conditions in the northern German coastal areas with often strong winds and relatively few sunny days for the honeybees to collect pollen or nectar differ significantly from those in southern Germany. Several research articles suggest the use of pesticides as one of the potential causes of bee mortality. Others also focus on pathogens and varroa destructor. However, due to the rise in the number of CCDs occurring worldwide, it seems less realistic to consider only one factor as the main cause. Therefore, an overview of all potential causes of death in honeybee colonies is provided and a combination of (synergistic) factors is identified as a means to weaken the bees' immune system. Hence, this dissertation focuses on the development of CCD in honeybees in Schleswig-Holstein, its main causes and its possible relation to beekeeping methods. The main questions asked in this dissertation are therefore: • Why are honeybees disappearing more often today than in the past? • How severe is the loss of the bee population in Northern Germany? • Is the crisis of bee mortality related to beekeeping methods? • Is there a way to decrease the losses? 9 For this matter, the following research project is based on firstly, a comparative study of the development of all the potential causes of CCD in bees in Schleswig-Holstein, including the background history of beekeeping in the region. Secondly, an evaluation and analysis of qualitative questionnaires will help to discuss the progress and the estimated causes of CCD in this area. For this research project, up-to-date data from local beekeepers are needed to analyze the recent development of colony collapse disorder in honeybees in the region. Furthermore, common local beekeeping methods and management trends could be easily patterned using a questionnaire. Finally, specific problems, requests, wishes and needs of beekeepers could be identified. Therefore, with the help of a several new and old local beekeepers from the region, a questionnaire with 21 questions was designed to add their field of interest. This survey is divided into two parts: in the first part, general questions about beekeepers, such as number of beehives and their equipment, and the second part, technical questions about deeper beekeeping methods, bee losses, issues and requests that include different perspectives on the topic. However, they are primarily focused on the main research hypothesis, beekeeping methods and bee losses. Finally, some methods and factors will be suggested to reduce or cut the losses of honeybees and to improve the general situation of honeybees in natural and man-made ecosystems. Despite the growing loss of honeybee colonies in recent decades, there is hope to put an end to this issue by understanding the main causes of this phenomenon at the local scale and eliminating these factors by improving the beekeeping and management methods and maintaining biological pest-control targets

A review of the ecological effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF)

Industrial EcologyEnvironmental Biolog

Multivariate landscape analysis of honey bee winter mortality in Wallonia, Belgium

The European honey bee species (Apis mellifera L.) is under increasing pressure from anthropogenic and other stressors. Winter mortality of entire colonies is generally attributed to biological, environmental, and management conditions. The rates of winter mortality can vary extremely from place to place. A landscape approach is used here to examine the dependency between spatially distributed winter mortality rates, environmental and biological conditions, and apiary management. The analysis was applied to data for the region of Wallonia in Belgium with winter mortality rates obtained from the European project EPILOBEE. Potential explanatory variables were spatially allocated based on GIS analysis, and subjected to binomial linear regression to identify the most predominant variables related to bee winter mortality. The results point to infestation with Varroa, the number of frost days, the potential flying hours, the connectivity of the natural landscape, and the use of plant protection products as most dominant causes for the region of Wallonia. The outcomes of this study will help focus beekeeping and environmental management to improve bee health and the effectiveness of apiary practices. The approach surpasses application to the problem of bee mortality and could be used to compare and rank the causes of other environmental problems by their significance, particularly when these are interdependent and spatially differentiated

Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation

'There was a strange stillness. The birds for example — where had they gone? Many people spoke about them, puzzled and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were moribund: they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices ... only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.' The book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is mainly about the impacts of chemicals (in particular in particular dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane also known as DDT) on the environment and human health. Indeed, the close association between humans and birds remains very apt. Representing the only two warm-blooded groups of life on Earth, mammals and birds share the same environments and threats. Carson's claim that she lived in 'an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged' still resonates strongly with the problems that societies face all over the world. One chapter heading, 'The obligation to endure', derived from the French biologist and philosopher Jean Rostand's famous observation that, 'the obligation to endure gives us the right to know'. United States President John F. Kennedy responded to the challenge posed by Carson by investigating DDT, leading to its complete ban in the US. The ban was followed by a range of institutions and regulations concerned with environmental issues in the US and elsewhere, driven by public demand for knowledge and protection. DDT was the primary tool used in the first global malaria eradication programme during the 1950s and 1960s. The insecticide is sprayed on the inner walls and ceilings of houses. Malaria has been successfully eliminated from many regions but remains endemic in large parts of the world. DDT remains one of the 12 insecticides — and the only organochlorine compound — currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, countries may continue to use DDT. Global annual use of DDT for disease vector control is estimated at more than 5 000 tonnes. It is clear that the social conscience awakened by Rachel Carson 50 years ago gave momentum to a groundswell of actions and interventions that are slowly but steadily making inroads at myriad levels. Chapter 17 of her book, 'The other road' reminds the reader of the opportunities that should have been seized much earlier. With more than 10 % of bird species worldwide now threatened in one way or another, it is clear that we missed early warnings or failed to act on them. Will we continue to miss signposts to 'other roads'? Are our obligations to endure met by our rights to know? As Carson said 50 years ago: 'The choice, after all, is ours to make.