Pesticide Use May Threaten Global Freshwater Biodiversity

Nature World News reports on the findings of a recent study into global freshwater pesticide levels:

Pesticide use, while it’s been tied to a decline in honeybee populations and other pollinators, now may also threaten global freshwater biodiversity, according to new research.

Specifically, it’s insecticides, a type of pesticide that is used to specifically target and kill insects, that are the problem. Despite the fact that insecticide use is regulated, and cannot surpass legally-accepted regulatory threshold levels (RTLs), it appears that they are still causing problems for various ecosystems and aquatic wildlife.

Researchers at the Institute for Environmental Science of the University of Koblenz-Landau evaluated for the first time comprehensive global insecticide contamination data for agricultural surface waters. They found that in water-phase samples, with hints of insecticide concentration, more than 40 percent exceeded respective RTLs. What’s more, in sediment samples, more than 80 percent of the insecticide concentrations exceeded RTLs.

To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.newmessage.org

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