Chemicals in the Environment: How Pesticides Alter Ecosystems

Chemicals have become part of our everyday environment. Farmers use pesticides on their crops and workers use herbicides to keep the underbrush clear on the sides of roads. Finding out the effects of the use of these chemicals on humans, animals and plants has been more important than ever. Now, scientists have found out a way to exactly predict how pesticides can affect entire ecosystems.

In order to examine how these chemicals can alter ecosystems, the researchers examined various studies, combining the evidence in their own paper. They included experimental fieldwork and research on sections of ecosystems, as well as a broad selection of chemical and biological analyses. This allowed them to demonstrate connections between the effects of chemicals in humans and animals and the often indirect consequences on the population, community and ecosystem levels.

"Although there are many indications of animal populations and ecosystems changing because of pesticides, there are few studies proving the connection without a doubt," said Heinz Kohler and Rita Triebskorn, two of the researchers, in a news release.

The researchers pointed out both mathematical and experimental approaches which could be used to recognize links between the effects of pesticides in individuals and ecological changes in biological communities and ecosystems in regions where intensive farming is practiced.

So what does this study show? It does reveal how studies can show the connection between chemicals and their effects. In addition, the researchers also postulated interdependent effects between pesticides and global warming. They forecast changes to "natural" selection, the spread of infections and the sexual development and fertility in wild animals. This could potentially have a knock-on effect on populations, ecosystems and food chains.

"The links to the effect of pesticides at every level of increasing biological complexity require more thorough research," said Kohler and Tribskorn in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal Science.