Effects of

Endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) produced in transgenic pest-resistant Bt crops are generally not toxic to predatory and parasitic arthropods. However, elimination of Bt-susceptible prey and hosts in Bt crops could reduce predator and parasitoid abundance and thereby disrupt biological control of other herbivorous pests. Here we report results of a field study evaluating the effects of Bt sprays on non-target terrestrial herbivore and natural enemy assemblages from three rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields on Luzon Island, Philippines. Because of restrictions on field-testing of transgenic rice, Bt sprays were used to remove foliage-feeding lepidopteran larvae that would be targeted by Bt rice. Data from a 546-taxa Philippines-wide food web, matched abundance plots, species accumulation curves, time-series analysis, and ecostatistical tests for species richness and ranked abundance were used to compare different subsets of non-target herbivores, predators, and parasitoids in Bt sprayed and water-sprayed (control) plots. For whole communities of terrestrial predators and parasitoids, Bt sprays altered parasitoid richness in 3 of 3 sites and predator richness in 1 of 3 sites, as measured by rarefaction (in half of these cases, richness was greater in Bt plots), while Spearman tests on ranked abundances showed that correlations, although significantly positive between all treatment pairs, were stronger for predators than for parasitoids, suggesting that parasitoid complexes may have been more sensitive than predators to the effects of Bt sprays. Species accumulation curves and time-series analyses of population trends revealed no evidence that Bt sprays altered the overall buildup of predator or parasitoid communities or population trajectories of non-target herbivores (planthoppers and leafhoppers) nor was evidence found for bottom-up effects in total abundances of non-target species identified in the food web from the addition of spores in the Bt spray formulation. When the same methods were applied to natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) of foliage-feeding lepidopteran and non-lepidopteran (homopteran, hemipteran and dipteran) herbivores, significant differences between treatments were detected in 7 of 12 cases. However, no treatment differences were found in mean abundances of these natural enemies, either in time-series plots or in total (seasonal) abundance. Analysis of guild-level trajectories revealed population behavior and treatment differences that could not be predicted in whole-community studies of predators and parasitoids. A more conclusive test of the impact of Bt rice will require field experiments with transgenic plants, conducted in a range of Asian environments, and over multiple cropping seasons

Perspectives from stakeholders on the food-energy-water nexus in metropolitan Seattle

Food, energy, and water (FEW) are deeply intertwined in modern agricultural production, consumption, and management. Policies aimed at increasing local food production and consumption are likely to affect all three FEW sectors as well as the practical and economic relations of producers and consumers to those sectors. This publication synthesizes interview data collected in the summer of 2016 to provide a snapshot of the thoughts of food producers, major agricultural commodity buyers, and policy-makers on topics related to food, agriculture, land-use planning, and energy and water resources around an urban setting. We found that connections between water and food production were well understood by northwestern Washington stakeholders, whereas connections between energy and food and water and energy were less understood or discussed. Many interviewees expressed a desire to work toward improved coordination and collaboration across agencies and organizations, to set goals for sustainable food production in the region, and to address institutional barriers to meeting those goals. Two competing, but not mutually exclusive, visions for a more sustainable regional food system emerged from interviewees: a sharp urban-agricultural boundary vision and a mixed urban-agricultural boundary model. These two models often are at odds with actions of key local agencies. Additionally, it was not clear if a strong, local desire for local food would enhance or exacerbate future food, energy, and water resources