Effects of mosquito control using the microbial agent Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: a systematic review.

Background: The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis serovar israelensis (Bti) is commercially produced in various formulations for use as a larvicide worldwide, targeting especially the aquatic larval stage of mosquitoes. However, there is a concern that repeated Bti treatments may have both direct and indirect impacts on non-target organisms (NTOs) and the ecosystems they inhabit. This review evaluates the evidence for such impacts.

Distance functions of carabids in crop fields depend on functional traits, crop type and adjacent habitat: a synthesis.

Natural pest and weed regulation are essential for agricultural production, but the spatial distribution of natural enemies within crop fields and its drivers are mostly unknown. Using 28 datasets comprising 1204 study sites across eight Western and Central European countries, we performed a quantitative synthesis of carabid richness, activity densities and functional traits in relation to field edges (i.e.

A multi-sensor approach to monitor the ongoing restoration of edaphic conditions for salt marsh species facing sea level rise: An adaptive management case study in Camargue, France.

The Camargue or Rhône delta is a coastal wetland in southern France of which parts formerly devoted to salt production are undergoing a renaturation process. This study assessed a multisensor approach to investigate the link between sediment size distribution, habitat development mapped with Worldview 2, flooding durations estimated with time series of SENTINEL 2 images and elevation modelled with a LIDAR point cloud in former saltworks. A Random Forest classification algorithm was used to map the vegetation distributions of Sarcocornia fruticosa and Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, main representatives of the NATURA 2000 "Mediterranean and thermo-Atlantic halophilous scrubs (Sarcocornetea fruticosi)" habitat on the site.

Long-term persistence and recycling of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis spores in wetlands sprayed for mosquito control.

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) is the main larvicide used to control mosquitoes worldwide. Although there is accumulating evidence of Bti having environmental effects on non-target fauna, relatively few field studies have documented the fate of Bti spores in the environment.

Environmental and socioeconomic effects of mosquito control in Europe using the biocide Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti).

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) has been used in mosquito control programs to reduce nuisance in Europe for decades and is generally considered an environmentally-safe, effective and target-specific biocide. However, the use of Bti is not uncontroversial.

Increasing crop heterogeneity enhances multitrophic diversity across agricultural regions.

Agricultural landscape homogenization has detrimental effects on biodiversity and key ecosystem services. Increasing agricultural landscape heterogeneity by increasing seminatural cover can help to mitigate biodiversity loss. However, the amount of seminatural cover is generally low and difficult to increase in many intensively managed agricultural landscapes.

Predicting the vulnerability of seasonally-flooded wetlands to climate change across the Mediterranean Basin.

Wetlands have been declining worldwide over the last century with climate change becoming an additional pressure, especially in regions already characterized by water deficit. This paper investigates how climate change will affect the values and functions of Mediterranean seasonally-flooded wetlands with emergent vegetation. We simulated the future evolution of water balance, wetland condition and water volumes necessary to maintain these ecosystems at mid- and late- 21st century, in 229 localities around the Mediterranean basin.

Ecosystem services in European protected areas: Ambiguity in the views of scientists and managers?

Protected Areas are a key component of nature conservation. They can play an important role in counterbalancing the impacts of ecosystem degradation. For an optimal protection of a Protected Area it is essential to account for the variables underlying the major Ecosystem Services an area delivers, and the threats upon them.

Mosquito Traps: An Innovative, Environmentally Friendly Technique to Control Mosquitoes.

We tested the use of mosquito traps as an alternative to spraying insecticide in Camargue (France) following the significant impacts observed on the non-target fauna through Bti persistence and trophic perturbations. In a village of 600 inhabitants, 16 Techno Bam traps emitting CO₂ and using octenol lures were set from April to November 2016. Trap performance was estimated at 70% overall based on mosquitoes landing on human bait in areas with and without traps.

Perturbation and delayed recovery of the reed invertebrate assemblage in Camargue marshes sprayed with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis.

Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) is the most commonly used larvicide to control mosquitoes worldwide. Considered as nontoxic to most organisms, Bti can nevertheless cause trophic perturbations to natural communities by reducing the abundance of Chironomidae, which are a key element of wetland food webs.

Scientific foundations for an IUCN Red List of ecosystems.

An understanding of risks to biodiversity is needed for planning action to slow current rates of decline and secure ecosystem services for future human use. Although the IUCN Red List criteria provide an effective assessment protocol for species, a standard global assessment of risks to higher levels of biodiversity is currently limited. In 2008, IUCN initiated development of risk assessment criteria to support a global Red List of ecosystems.