Schutz der Diversität wildlebender Vogel- und Säugerarten vor den Auswirkungen von Pflanzenschutzmitteln

In einer Literaturstudie wurden für 27 Feldvogel- und 22 Säugerarten Daten zu Trend, Habitatwahl (Wahl der Feldfrucht), Bedrohungen und Risiko-Managementmaßnahmen zusammengestellt. Die indirekte Wirkung von Pestiziden auf Populationsniveau ist für vier europäische Agrarvogelarten und einige Säugerarten außerhalb Europas nachgewiesen. Daten zur Nahrungs- und Habitatwahl lassen jedoch vermuten, dass zahlreiche weitere Arten betroffen sind. Insbesondere die indirekten Effekte und das zum Schutz der Arten erforderliche Risikomanagement werden umrissen.Stichwörter: Pestizide, Vögel, SäugerProtection of biodiversity of free living birds and mammals in respect of the effects of pesticidesAbstractBased on a literature review we compile trends, habitat (crop) selection, threats and risk management measures of 27 farmland bird species and 22 farmland mammal species. There is scientific-based evidence for indirect effects of pesticides at the population level of four European farmland bird species and several mammal species outside Europe. Data on diet and on habitat selection suggest that indirect effects of pesticides may affect many more species. The indirect effects and the risk management which is necessary to protect the species are described briefly.Keywords: pesticides, birds, mammal

Was it Uruguay or Coffee? The causes of the beef jerky industry’s decline in southern Brazil (1850 – 1889)

What caused the decline of the beef jerky’s production in Brazil? The main sustenance for slaves, beef jerky was the most important industry in southern Brazil. Nevertheless, by 1850, producers were already worried that they could not compete with Uruguayan industry. Traditional interpretations impute the decline to labor markets differences in productivity, since Brazil used slaves while Uruguay had abolished slavery in 1842. Recent research also raises the possibility of a Brazilian “Dutch Disease”, resulting from the coffee exports boom. We test both hypothesis and argue that Brazilian production’s decline was associated with structural changes in demand for low quality meat. Trade protection policies created disincentives for Brazilian producers to increase productivity and diversify its cattle industry

Intra-floral resource partitioning between endemic and invasive flower visitors: consequences for pollinator effectiveness

Sympatric flower visitor species often partition nectar and pollen and thus affect each other's foraging pattern. Consequently, their pollination service may also be influenced by the presence of other flower visiting species. Ants are solely interested in nectar and frequent flower visitors of some plant species but usually provide no pollination service. Obligate flower visitors such as bees depend on both nectar and pollen and are often more effective pollinators

Flower strip networks offer promising long term effects on pollinator species richness in intensively cultivated agricultural areas

Abstract Background Intensively cultivated agricultural landscapes often suffer from substantial pollinator losses, which may be leading to decreasing pollination services for crops and wild flowering plants. Conservation measures that are easy to implement and accepted by farmers are needed to halt a further loss of pollinators in large areas under intensive agricultural management. Here we report the results of a replicated long-term study involving networks of mostly perennial flower strips covering 10% of a conventionally managed agricultural landscape in southwestern Germany. Results We demonstrate the considerable success of these measures for wild bee and butterfly species richness over an observation period of 5 years. Overall species richness of bees and butterflies but also the numbers of specialist bee species clearly increased in the ecological enhancement areas as compared to the control areas without ecological enhancement measures. A three to five-fold increase in species richness was found after more than 2 years of enhancement of the areas with flower strips. Oligolectic bee species increased significantly only after the third year. Conclusions In our long-term field experiment we used a large variety of seed mixtures and temporal variation in seeding time, ensured continuity of the flower-strips by using perennial seed mixtures and distributed the measures over c. 10% of the landscape. This led to an increase in pollinator abundance, suggesting that these measures may be instrumental for the successful support of pollinators. These measures may ensure the availability of a network of diverse habitats and foraging resources for pollinators throughout the year, as well as nesting sites for many species. The measures are applied in-field and are suitable for application in areas under intensive agriculture. We propose that flower strip networks should be implemented much more in the upcoming CAP (common agricultural policy) reform in the European Union and promoted more by advisory services for farmers