Pierre Mineau

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Carleton University

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The neonicotinoids represent a relatively new group of insecticides. They were introduced in the early 1990s to counter widespread resistance in insect pests and increasing health and safety objections to the organophosphorous insecticides. Although of lower acute toxicity to vertebrates than the latter, the neonicotinoids’ longer...

A risk assessment of bats and neonicotinoid insecticides.

This is an extended (65 pp.) version of the report on this issue. A shorter version with highlights has also been published and distributed. See: Mineau, P. 2019. Impacts of Neonics in New York Water. Their Use and Threats to the State’s Aquatic Ecosystems. 18 pp.

In North America and Europe, pesticide seed treatments are not legally covered under various aspects of pesticide use legislation. This reports highlights why this is unwise and needs to be changed by using California as a test case.

A 10 year update of the science behind the need to restrict neonicotinoid insecticides to protect birds and the ecosystems on which they depend. As with the 2013 report, this was produced on behalf of the American Bird Conservancy.

First of two expert witness declarations in a court case to force EPA to recognize that treated seeds are pesticides.

Second of two expert witness declarations in a court case to force EPA to recognize that treated seeds are pesticides.

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) have caused widespread contamination and poisoning of predators and scavengers. The diagnosis of toxicity proceeds from evidence of hemorrhage, and subsequent detection of residues in liver. Many factors confound the assessment of AR poisoning, particularly exposure dose, timing and frequency of exposure, and indivi...

Tools for quantifying nontarget pesticide risks have long been used for documenting the benefits of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. One resource receiving little attention is the Pesticide Risk Tool (PRT), developed by the IPM Institute in Madison, WI. The PRT includes 15 indices and uses a probabilistic approach to assess the risk for t...

Agricultural intensification has given rise to a loss of biodiversity, notably in insect faunas. This loss of biodiversity is part of a more general trend of insect reductions in the Anthropocene. Neonicotinoid insecticides, a relatively new class of persistent and highly soluble systemic insecticides have increasingly been found to contaminate bro...

We present a method for calculating the Acute Insecticide Toxicity Loading (AITL) on US agricultural lands and surrounding areas and an assessment of the changes in AITL from 1992 through 2014. The AITL method accounts for the total mass of insecticides used in the US, acute toxicity to insects using honey bee contact and oral LD50 as reference val...

On 28 April 2018 the European Parliament voted for a complete and permanent ban on all outdoor uses of the three most commonly used neonicotinoid pesticides. With the partial exception of the state of Ontario, Canada, governments elsewhere have failed to take action. Below is a letter, signed by 232 scientists from around the world, urgently callin...

Last iteration of expert testimony provided in a case involving neonicotinoid seed treatments and avian threatened and endangered species in the U.S UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION.

Organophosphorous and carbamate insecticides, jointly known as cholinesterase inhibitors, replaced the organochlorine insecticides and dominated insecticide use from the 1970s through to the end of the century. They were far less persistent and not prone to bioaccumulation and bioconcentration, as were the organochlorines, but they were very acutel...

This chapter was written as the introduction to the contaminants’ volume of the “Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene” to be published in late 2017. Individual chapters from the encyclopedia, including this one, will be made available also under the “Earth Sciences and Environmental Systems” online module of Elsevier. Therefore, this introduction will...

Is it mainly an academic exercise to argue whether humanity has entered into a new geological era proposed as the “Anthropocene?” Regardless of whether we demark it as a progression from the Holocene or not, it is clear that humanity has placed its ecological fingerprints all over the planet. Witness the planetary change during the “great accelerat...

Different microalgae species produce varying quantity and quality of the lipids. Fatty acid methyl ester composition, which comprises both saturated and unsaturated contents, critically affects biodiesel properties. Current study compares six locally isolated microalgae strains belonging to three classes (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyceae, and Cyanop...

The second of three expert testimonies on the issue of neonicotinoid seed treatments and avian threatened and endangered species.

First expert testimony in case looking at potential impacts of neonicotinoid seed treatments on avian threatened and endangered species in the U.S.

Pesticides are invaluable tools for food and fiber production, but pesticide use presents risks that must be carefully managed. The Pesticide Risk Mitigation Engine (ipmPRiME.com) is a web application designed to help mitigate the environmental impacts of pesticide use by improving the selection of pest management options and conservation practices...

The side effects of the current global use of pesticides on wildlife, particularly at higher levels of biological organization: populations, communities and ecosystems, are poorly understood (Kohler and Triebskorn 2013). Here, we focus on one of the problematic groups of agrochemicals, the systemic insecticides fipronil and those of the neonicotino...

The Acute Pollinator Risk Index was developed for the Integrated Pest Management Institute in Madison, Wisconsin. At the time, it inserted itself into a suite of indicators named PRiME – for the ‘Pesticide Risk Mitigation Engine’. PRiME has now been renamed PRT (Pesticide Risk Tool) and this technical white paper has been modified to reflect this...

Since their discovery in the late 1980s, neonicotinoid pesticides have become the most widely used class of insecticides worldwide, with large-scale applications ranging from plant protection (crops, vegetables, fruits), veterinary products, and biocides to invertebrate pest control in fish farming. In this review, we address the phenyl-pyrazole fi...

Concerns over the role of pesticides affecting vertebrate wildlife populations have recently focussed on systemic products which exert broad-spectrum toxicity. Given that the neonicotinoids have become the fastest-growing class of insecticides globally, we review here 150 studies of their direct (toxic) and indirect (e.g. food chain) effects on ver...

Pierre Mineau Consulting) and Susan Kegley (Pesticide Research Institute) Because the dose levels used in this study have already been the subject of criticism, we review known exposure levels so as to provide a comparison of concentrations in nectar and water sources encountered under actual field conditions with those used in the study. Study Det...

Intensive farming methods have been linked to population declines of farmland birds. One possible mechanism for these declines is a reduction in the biomass of small invertebrates, necessary for growth and survival of the young of many songbirds (nestling food). We predicted that organic farming, with its avoidance of synthetic pesticides and longe...

We outline an approach to pesticide risk assessment that is based upon surveys of pesticide use throughout West Africa. We have developed and used new risk assessment models to provide, to our knowledge, the first detailed, geographically extensive, scientifically based analysis of pesticide risks for this region. Human health risks from dermal exp...

The need for locust control throughout eastern Australia during the spring of 2010 provided an opportunity to quantify residues of the organophosphorus insecticide, fenitrothion, on nymphs of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera Walker. Residues were collected across the different physiological states of locust nymphs observed fol...

Mechanical operations such as mowing, tilling, seeding, and harvesting are well-known sources of direct avian mortality in agricultural fields. However, there are currently no mortality rate estimates available for any species group or larger jurisdiction. Even reviews of sources of mortality in birds have failed to address mechanical disturbance i...

A serious impediment to estimating the impact of pesticides on migratory birds is the lack of comprehensive pesticide use data. Canada is one of the few developed countries that do not collect such information. A clear recommendation of this report (and of many others) is that Canada should establish a pesticide use reporting system. Based on areas...

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides are widely reported to contaminate and poison nontarget wildlife, primarily predatory birds and mammals. Exposure pathways, however, have not been well defined. Here, we examined potential movement of rodenticides from deployment of bait to exposure of small mammals and other biota. At two adjacent worki...

Many human activities in Canada kill wild birds, yet the relative magnitude of mortality from different sources and the consequent effects on bird populations have not been systematically evaluated. We synthesize recent estimates of avian mortality in Canada from a range of industrial and other human activities, to provide context for the estimates...

Common agricultural birds are in decline, both in Europe and in North America. Evidence from Europe suggests that agricultural intensification and, for some species, the indirect effects of pesticides mediated through a loss of insect food resource is in part responsible. On a state-by-state basis for the conterminous Unites States (U.S.), we looke...

Birds migrating to and from breeding grounds in the United States and Canada are killed by the millions in collisions with lighted towers and their guy wires. Avian mortality at towers is highly variable across species, and the importance to each population depends on its size and trajectory. Building on our previous estimate of avian mortality at...

Agricultural intensification has been linked to declines in farmland and grassland bird populations in Europe and in North America. One factor thought to be behind these declines is reduced invertebrate food abundance in the breeding season, leading to reduced reproductive success. However, little is known about foraging habitat or diet of farmland...

Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) were subjected to controlled and replicated experiments in the summer of 2008 to investigate the effects of short-term dehydration on cholinesterase activity in brain and plasma and the interaction between dehydration and exposure to the organophosphorus pesticide dicrotophos in these same tissues. Our objective was...

Dermal exposure is not considered in the routine assessment of pesticide risk to birds but is known to be important. There is no routine testing of pesticide dermal toxicity in birds necessitating that we make better use of information currently collected on mammalian species. This paper assembles and analyses all known avian dermal toxicity data f...

Avian mortality at communication towers in the continental United States and Canada is an issue of pressing conservation concern. Previous estimates of this mortality have been based on limited data and have not included Canada. We compiled a database of communication towers in the continental United States and Canada and estimated avian mortality...

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are widely used to control rodent pests but exposure and poisonings occur in non-target species, such as birds of prey. Liver residues are often analysed to detect exposure in birds found dead but their use to assess toxicity of SGARs is problematic. We analysed published data on hepatic rodentic...

Chlorothalonil, a broad-spectrum nonsystemic foliar fungicide, is one of the most extensively used pesticide active ingredients on Prince Edward Island, Canada, for blight control on potatoes. In ambient air-sampling programs conducted in 1998 and 1999 and from 2002 to 2004, chlorothalonil was measured in 97% of air samples collected. It is known t...

The purpose of this study was to investigate how well single-species laboratory data predict real-world pesticide toxicity effects on Crustacea. Data from field pesticide exposures from experimental mesocosm and small pond studies were converted into toxicity units (TUs) by dividing measured pesticide concentrations by the L(E)C50 for Daphnia or ac...

First-tier risk assessment for pesticides is often based on the quotient of the toxicity divided by the predicted environmental concentration or dose. This ratio is compared to a fixed assessment factor (AF) to decide whether the pesticide is to be allowed on the market or whether further research is needed. Often, a high value (e.g., the 90th perc...

Second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) are widely used to control rodent pests but exposure and poisonings occur in non-target species, such as birds of prey. Liver residues are often analysed to detect exposure in birds found dead but their use to assess toxicity of SGARs is problematic. We analysed published data on hepatic rodentic...

Vegetation in a small section of nesting habitat in a Lesser Snow Goose colony was mapped in 1976 and again in 1993. During the 17-year period, ground cover changed dramatically from being dominated by salt-marsh graminoids and short grasses to being dominated by willows and areas of bare sediment. Lyme grass, Elymus arenarius, a plant strongly fav...

We report the content of 132 boli and 2000 pellets regurgitated by adults and 1749 boli regurgitated for or by chicks in 25 herring gull (Larus argentatus) colonies in Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, between mid-April and mid-July, 1977–1983. Fish were the predominant food in all four lakes. Although 11 families of fish and a minimum of 16...

Waterbird use of agricultural wetlands has increased as natural wetlands have declined. Use of rice (Oryza sativa) habitats by some waterbird species is considered essential to sustaining populations. Although use of rice habitats by waterbirds has been documented throughout the world, little information is available on potential risks as a result...

It is generally assumed that the toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides to birds is negligible, though few species have been tested. The oral acute toxicity of formulated beta-cyfluthrin was determined for canaries (Serinus sp.), shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis), and eared doves (Zenaida auriculata). Single doses were administered to adults by g...

Waterbird use of agricultural wetlands has increased as natural wetlands have declined. Use of rice (Oryza sativa) habitats by some waterbird species is considered essential to sustaining populations. Although use of rice habitats by waterbirds has been documented throughout the world, little information is available on potential risks as a result...

Anticoagulant rodenticides are widely used to control rodent infestations. Previous studies have shown that nontarget organisms, such as birds, are at risk for both primary and secondary poisoning. This paper presents rodenticide residue information on the livers from 164 strigiformes which included barn owls (Tyto alba), barred owls (Strix varia),...

We observed Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) foraging at the landfill in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 1994–1996 and 2001–2002, to determine (1) diet and time budgets of eagles visiting the landfill; (2) whether food taken from the landfill provided a significant energy source for local eagle populations; and (3) the effects of eagle d...

Shooting and using poison baits (e.g., strychnine, zinc phosphide) are current management options for controlling Richardson's ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii; RGS). Bullets used for shooting RGS contain lead, fragment upon impact, and RGS carcasses are not usually recovered after being shot. For these reasons, we hypothesized that scav...

There have been many documented cases of bird mortality along roadsides where salt was applied. Herbivorous and granivorous species, especially, are attracted to salt, probably to satisfy a dietary need. Because mortality appears to be primarily a result of vehicle strikes, most authors have assumed that salt was only indirectly responsible for the...

Mounting evidence suggests that pollinators worldwide are experiencing dramatic population declines, and exposure to pesticides is one of the factors that can account for this. By making use of a database containing more than two decades of honey bee (Apis mellifera) hive poisoning incidents from the United Kingdom (Wildlife Incident Investigation...

The purpose of this paper is to present a new risk-based approach developed by Environment Canada for ranking pesticides and their potential risk to aquatic life. These rankings are compared to those generated using a more traditional score-based approach. Two hundred and twelve active ingredients registered in Canada for use in agricultural field...

From 1994 to 1999 in the Lower Fraser Valley region of southwest Canada, fonofos (Dyfonate G) was recommended for control of introduced wireworm (Agriotes spp.) pests on potato and other root crops. As part of a wildlife-monitoring program, we collected 15 raptors, including 12 bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), found dead or debilitated on or...

Problem statement An experiment to measure the LD 50 has either i) only been conducted at a single limit dose or ii) has resulted in too few mortalities at the highest dose to allow a probit curve to be fitted to the data. The outcome of the experiment is the statement that the LD 50 is greater than some value. Environmental assessment of the poten...

Optimal efficacy of granular pesticides is generally achieved by burying the granule in close proximity to the seed at planting. In cases where the pesticide carried in/on the granule is phytotoxic, it is more beneficial for the granule to be left on the soil surface apart from the buried seed. Farming surveys in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. have...

In line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Defra aims to place the results of its completed research projects in the public domain wherever possible. The SID 5 (Research Project Final Report) is designed to capture the information on the results and outputs of Defra-funded research in a format that is easily publishable through the Defra web...

This document directly accompanies the synthesis report on risk-based standards developed for pesticide use in Canada (Mineau et al., 2008). For most key environmental sectors potentially affected by pesticide use, we were able to assemble a sufficient empirical database of terrestrial and aquatic field studies to translate laboratory-based toxicit...

From 1994 to 1999 in the Lower Fraser Valley region of southwest Canada, fonofos (Dyfonate G) was recommended for control of introduced wireworm (Agriotes spp.) pests on potato and other root crops. As part of a wildlife monitoring program, we collected 15 raptors, including 12 Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), found dead or debilitated on or...

Ecological risks to wildlife are typically assessed using toxicity data for relatively few species and with limited understanding of differences in species sensitivity to contaminants. Empirical interspecies correlation models were derived from LD50 values for 49 wildlife species and 951 chemicals. The standard wildlife test species Japanese quail...

Birds of prey that are poisoned by cholinesterase inhibitors (e.g. organophosphate and carbamate insecticides) are often cared for at animal shelters, rehabilitation centres and wildlife diagnostic facilities. Plasma cholinesterase (ChE) activity is a recognized method of assessing exposure to these insecticides, but standard blood-handling protoco...

Baseline information was collected on a local Eastern Screech-Owl population found in the apple-producing region of Saint-Hilaire and Rougemont, Quebec, as part of a larger study on pesticide exposure conducted between 2000 and 2003. Screech-Owls visited or occupied 41 of 89 nest boxes installed in 12 orchards and 2 control locations. The mean heig...

We used pesticide use data and previously published models to estimate the lethal risk to birds from insecticides used in U.S. agriculture. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS, Washington, D.C.) were used to assess how the lethal risk to birds has changed over the period 1991 to 2003 and to...

Certain species may be particularly suitable as indicators of the integrity of their respective habitats. The authors believe the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) is one such species. A previous study to evaluate this was constrained by lack of toxicological analyses and a dearth of information about concurrent pesticide use. Here, the authors...

Long term exposure of skylarks to a fictitious insecticide and of wood mice to a fictitious fungicide were modelled probabilistically in a Monte Carlo simulation. Within the same simulation the consequences of exposure to pesticides on reproductive success were modelled using the toxicity-exposure-linking rules developed by R.S. Bennet et al. (2005...

In the European Union, first-tier assessment of the long-term risk to birds and mammals from pesticides is based on calculation of a deterministic long-term toxicity/exposure ratio (TER(lt)). The ratio is developed from generic herbivores and insectivores and applied to all species. This paper describes two case studies that implement proposed impr...

The ecological assessment of long term or reproductive effects from pesticide exposure in birds and mammals is currently seen to be problematic. In birds especially, the current test results are difficult to extrapolate to a field situation. For example, whereas a majority of laboratory studies report clutch size reductions in response to graded pe...

Terrestrial risk assessments for pesticide exposure is generally based on a limited number of toxicity data. The protection target for these assessments requires an extrapolation from species for which toxicity data are available to other species with unknown sensitivity to be able to protect these as well. Our ability to extrapolate toxicity endpo...

The long-term risks of pesticides to wildlife in the EU currently are assessed by comparing the lowest no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) determined from the suite of endpoints measured in existing avian and mammalian laboratory reproduction tests with estimated exposure concentrations by calculating Toxicity to Exposure Ratios (TERs). Regulat...

As part of a larger study assessing exposure of the Eastern screech-owl to pesticides in apple orchards from consumption of contaminated small-mammal prey, we evaluated the potential for owls in orchards of southern Quebec to be exposed to persistent contaminants with emphasis on DDE. Levels were highest in short-tailed shrews (0.94 to 26.29 microg...

There have been many documented cases of bird mortality along roadsides where salt was applied. Herbivorous and granivorous species, especially, are attracted to salt, probably to satisfy a dietary need. Because mortality appears to be primarily a result of vehicle strikes, most authors have assumed that salt was only indirectly responsible for the...

We examined the possibility that granular insecticides, used intensively in the Canadian prairies to control flea beetles (Phyllotreta sp.) in canola (Brassica napus and B. napa), could contribute to bird population declines. A retrospective analysis (1971–96) was done to investigate relationships between counts of 29 bird species made on Breeding...