{"id":9386,"date":"2021-04-13T21:56:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T21:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=9386"},"modified":"2021-06-18T14:31:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T14:31:55","slug":"neonictinoids-and-bats-yet-another-danger-for-an-already-endangered-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/neonictinoids-and-bats-yet-another-danger-for-an-already-endangered-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Neonictinoids and Bats: Yet Another Danger for an Already Endangered Species"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span dir=\"ltr\">There are over 1,300 bat species worldwide, 19 of which <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">call Canada home. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Canadian bats are incredibly important, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">not only to the environment but to the economy too. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">When the sun goes down, bats get to work eating the <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">annoying pests in our backyards. They\u2019re also extremely <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">beneficial to the agricultural industry. In fact, <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span dir=\"ltr\">Bats save <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">the agricultural industry in North America $3.7 <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">billion <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">every year.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Sadly, bats are in serious decline. Like humans, the success <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">of their populations relies less on high birth rates and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">more on a high survival rate. Of the 19 species of bats in <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Canada, <strong>13 give birth to just one pup per year<\/strong>. This makes <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">every single life crucial to the growth of a population. In <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">the last 10 years, millions of bats have perished and some <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">of our most treasured bat species have been listed as <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Endangered, including the Tri-colored Bat, the Northern <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Long-eared Bat and the Little Brown Bat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Bats face enormous threats, including habitat loss, white-<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">nose syndrome, wind turbines and a new growing threat: <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">neonicotinoid pesticides. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>What Are Neonictinoids?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ban With a Plan | What are Neonics?\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sc83F8Zr1D4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">because many insects were becoming resistant <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">to older insecticides. These new pesticides \u2014 <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">\u201cneonics\u201d \u2014 are a group of insecticides that are <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">chemically related to nicotine and are known to be <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">toxic to insects. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Today, five of these insecticides, including <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Thiacloprid<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Clothianidin<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Acetamiprid<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Imidacloprid<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Thiamethoxam<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">, are approved for use here in <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Canada. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">They are being used on crops like wheat, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">soy, peas, beans, fruits and vegetables. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">They <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">are applied to the plant as seed coatings, as soil <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">solutions or as sprays on the leaves and stems. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">They remain active in the plant for many months <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">and in the soil for up to several years. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span dir=\"ltr\">How Neonicotinoid Pesticides May be Harming Bats<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Neonics could be impacting our beloved bats in <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">numerous ways:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Depleting insect populations \u2014 the bat\u2019s <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">source of food<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Poisoning bats that eat affected insects<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"ltr\">Lowering the immune system of bats and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">making them vulnerable to disease<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4><span dir=\"ltr\">1. Depleting Bat Food Sources<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h4>\n<figure style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/assets\/images\/bat-species-images\/brockFenton-northernMyotis-myotisSeptentrionalis.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u00a9 Brock Fenton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">In a single night, a bat can eat its own body weight in <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">insects. While bats might need to eat a lot of insects to <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">survive, they\u2019re not overly picky. They\u2019ll happily eat a wide <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">range of insects and will switch to different prey depending <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">on what\u2019s available. For example, scientists made a dietary <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">analysis of the Little Brown Bat and found nearly 600 <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">distinct insect species! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Unfortunately, their prey is in decline. Insect abundance <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">has declined dramatically in many areas around the world. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">And while agricultural intensification is partly to blame, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">the use of neonics is certainly not helping. In fact, it\u2019s <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">making the situation worse. When bats can\u2019t find insects <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">to eat, they stop foraging altogether and wait for better <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">conditions. This is harmful for these small mammals <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">because they need to eat their fill to keep their energy up. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Moreover, their echolocation system limits the size range <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">of insects available to them. <\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span dir=\"ltr\">2. Poisoning From Eating Contaminated Insects<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/assets\/images\/farming-spray-bats.jpg\" \/>Bats truly are a farmer\u2019s ally as they eat plenty of agricultural pests. They <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">will also happily eat aquatic insects. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">The problem occurs when neonics permeate the very insects that bats <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">enjoy eating. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Neonics are highly water-soluble, and aquatic insect larvae <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">are incredibly sensitive to these lethal pesticides. They can kill larvae, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">reduce the growth of affected insects, make it difficult for insects to <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">move around and inhibit their ability to feed. When agricultural pests are <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">sprayed with neonics, they can be exposed to a sub-lethal amount of the <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">pesticides or the substance can coat their wings, hairs or scales. In turn, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">when bats eat the poisoned insects, they can be poisoned too. Exposure <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">to neonics may have consequences for these flying mammals because it <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">can impair their ability to use echolocation and perform intricate flying <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">manoeuvers to catch their prey.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span dir=\"ltr\">3. Lowered Immune System<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-standard wp-image-7467\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/little-brown-bat-myotis-resting-william-weber-1130479622-1100x640.jpg\" alt=\"little brown bat\" width=\"1100\" height=\"640\" \/>Researchers are learning that neonics can harm bats soon after bats <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">consume affected insects. But they\u2019ve also discovered that bats can <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">actually retain neonics in their systems over time. One researcher <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">detected neonics in bat tissue from two specimens collected during <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">winter in the northeastern United States. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">This is very worrying news.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">During hibernation, bats lower their immune systems, making <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">them more vulnerable to disease. And in the last decade alone, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">approximately <strong>12 million bats in Canada and the United States have <\/strong><\/span><span dir=\"ltr\"><strong>died from white-nose syndrome<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span dir=\"ltr\">Researchers are learning that <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">insecticides like neonics can predispose bat populations to white-<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">nose syndrome by further lowering the immune systems of exposed <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">animals.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Moreover, neonics like <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Imidacloprid<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Thiamethoxam<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\"> and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Thiacloprid<\/span><span dir=\"ltr\"> have been shown to disrupt torpor (when a bat reduces <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">its body temperature and metabolic rate over the winter), either by <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">affecting the thyroid or prostaglandin systems. When a bat isn\u2019t able <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">to go into and stay in torpor, its health is easily compromised. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>More Research Needed<\/h3>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Neonics are a new threat to bats, adding to the threats we\u2019ve known <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">about for a while. More research is needed to understand how <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">this new threat impacts bats and what can be done to reduce the <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">threat. We also need to rethink how we are producing our food and <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">build environmental sustainability into agricultural systems. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"ltr\">Bats are <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">important allies to food production, which means keeping them safe <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">from the impacts of modern farming practices will also benefit farmers. <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">For more information, read our published paper, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/resources\/research-papers\/1809-014-Bats-and-Neonics-Report-high_rez.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span dir=\"ltr\">Neonicotinoid <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">Insecticides and Bats: An assessment of the direct and indirect risks<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"ltr\">, <\/span><span dir=\"ltr\">by Pierre Mineau and Carolyn Callaghan.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-excerpt\">There are over 1,300 bat species worldwide, 19 of which call Canada home. Canadian bats are incredibly important, not only to the environment but to the economy too. When the&hellip;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":4070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631,6,638],"tags":[3783,3785,654,933],"class_list":["post-9386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","category-endangered-species","category-fields-forests","tag-banneonics","tag-banwithaplan","tag-help-the-bats","tag-neonics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9386"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9408,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9386\/revisions\/9408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}