Predation pressure in maize across Europe and in Argentina: An intercontinental comparison

Humankind draws important benefits from large-scale ecological processes termed ecosystem services, yet the status of several of them is declining. Reliable monitoring methods are essential for tracking the status of ecosystem services. Predation is the mainstay of natural pest control, a key ecosystem service. We used green plasticine caterpillars to monitor predation pressure, and to obtain baseline data on predator activity in transgenic Bt versus non-Bt maize fields in Old and New World countries. Predation pressure was measured at ground and canopy levels using an identical, small-plot experimental design in four European countries (Denmark, Slovakia, Romania and Italy) and Argentina. Total predation rate in maize was 11.7%d-1(min. 7.2%d-1in Argentina, max. 29.0%d-1in Romania). Artificial caterpillars were attacked both by invertebrates (mostly chewing insects with 42.0% of the attack marks, and ants with 7.1%, but also predatory and parasitoid wasps, spiders and slugs), and vertebrates (small mammals 25.5%, and birds 20.2%). Total predation at ground level (15.7%d-1) was significantly higher than in maize canopies (6.0%d-1) in all countries, except Argentina. We found no significant differences between predator pressure in Bt versus non-Bt maize plots. The artificial caterpillar method provided comparable, quantitative data on predation intensity, and proved to be suitable for monitoring natural pest control. This method usefully expands the existing toolkit by directly measuring ecological function rather than structure

Scientific Opinion on the effect on public or animal health or on the environment on the presence of seeds of Ambrosia spp. in animal feed

The European Commission requested EFSA to provide a scientific opinion on the effect on public or animal health or on the environment on the further distribution of Ambrosia spp. in the European Union and on the importance of feed materials, in particular bird feed, in the dispersion of Ambrosia spp. The genus Ambrosia (Asteraceae family) is distributed worldwide. Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) has heavily colonised several areas of South-East Europe. Ambrosia spp., both in their native range and in invaded areas, are of public health concern due to the allergenic properties of their pollen. The NDA Panel concluded that inhalation of the plant pollen causes rhino-conjunctivitis and asthma, with skin allergies and food allergy playing minor roles. Ambrosia may cross-sensitize patients to other allergens, including food allergens. There is some evidence for allergenicity of Ambrosia pollen in animals. With regard to the effects on the environment of the further distribution of Ambrosia spp. in the European Union, the PLH Panel concluded that there is no direct evidence that Ambrosia spp. cause extinction of plant species. However, there are some indications that A. artemisiifolia could become highly invasive in certain environmentally-valuable habitats and might be linked to an impoverishment of species richness, therefore further ecological studies are needed. The CONTAM Panel focused on the relative importance of animal feed, bird feed in particular, on the dispersion of Ambrosia. Ambrosia seeds may contaminate feed. However, animal feed materials compounded for use in livestock are extensively processed. This processing destroys Ambrosia seeds and hence the contribution of compounded feed to the dispersion of Ambrosia is considered to be negligible. Bird feed often contains significant quantities of Ambrosia seeds and remains unprocessed. Therefore, bird feed seems to play an important role in introducing Ambrosia to new, previously not infested area

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts.

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1\% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1\% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - http://www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015