对蜜蜂有害的东西也可能对海洋生物有害

对蜜蜂有害的东西也可能对海洋生物有害

Over the past two decades, farmers hoping to ward off pests have increasingly turned to planting seeds that come straight from the supplier pre-coated in neonicotinoids, a controversial class of insecticide chemically related to nicotine. With the insecticide built into the seeds, farmers no longer have to spray their fields with toxic chemicals, theoretically reducing the risk to non-target species.

在过去的20年里，希望避开害虫的农民越来越多地开始种植直接来自供应商的种子，这些种子被预先涂上新烟碱类杀虫剂的涂层。新烟碱类杀虫剂是一种有争议的杀虫剂，其化学成分与尼古丁有关。在种子中植入杀虫剂后，农民不再需要向田地里喷洒有毒化学物质，这在理论上降低了对非目标物种的风险。

But as it turns out, neonics, as they’re also known, do impact other species—most famously honeybees, the steep decline of which has been linked to the insecticides. That discovery led the European Union to ban neonics in 2018. However, they remain widely used in the United States, as well as in Canada, though with some restrictions. Now, Haley Davis, an undergraduate student studying toxicology in marine ecosystems at Hollings Marine Laboratory in South Carolina, and her colleagues are raising yet another reason to be concerned about the insecticides. Neonics dissolve easily in water, they say, and could be harming marine life.

但事实证明，新烟碱确实影响了其他物种——最著名的是蜜蜂，杀虫剂导致了蜜蜂数量的急剧下降。这一发现导致欧盟在2018年禁止了新烟碱。然而，尽管有一些限制，它们仍然在美国和加拿大被广泛使用。现在，南卡罗来纳州霍林斯海洋实验室(Hollings marine Laboratory)研究海洋生态系统毒理学的本科生海莉·戴维斯(Haley Davis)和她的同事提出了另一个关注杀虫剂的理由。新烟碱很容易溶解在水中，他们说，可能会伤害海洋生物。

Davis and her fellow researchers presented the results of their examination into the effects of imidacloprid, a common neonicotinoid, on coral and reef-dwelling species that are vulnerable to runoff from coastal agriculture at a scientific meeting in February.

戴维斯和她的同事在2月份的一次科学会议上展示了他们的研究结果，他们研究了吡虫啉(一种常见的新烟碱类杀虫剂)对珊瑚和居住在礁石上的物种的影响，这些物种很容易受到沿海农业径流的影响。

They found that coral exposed to the insecticide had reduced polyp activity—an indication of increased stress. Shrimplike amphipods were affected, too. Even at low doses, imidacloprid exposure inhibited their movement. And for some, high levels of exposure were fatal.

他们发现，暴露在杀虫剂下的珊瑚减少了水螅的活动——这是压力增加的迹象。形似虾的片脚类动物也受到了影响。即使是低剂量的吡虫啉也会抑制它们的运动。对一些人来说，高水平的辐射是致命的。

Masumi Yamamuro, a biogeochemist with the Geological Survey of Japan who was not involved in the research, says that, just like honeybees, many marine animals are arthropods, and thus could be similarly vulnerable to neonics. “The disruption of marine ecosystems and the food web could be severe,” she says.

日本地质勘测局的生物地球化学家Masumi Yamamuro没有参与这项研究，他说，就像蜜蜂一样，许多海洋动物都是节肢动物，因此同样容易受到电子学的伤害。“海洋生态系统和食物网的破坏可能是严重的。”她说。

But when it comes to this class of insecticide, the relationship between exposure and impact is not well understood, says Michelle Hladik, an environmental chemist with the US Geological Survey who did not take part in the study. Hladik says most of the concentrations of neonics tested in Davis’s experiment were unrealistically high—beyond what is seen in the wild. But even low doses, she adds, could still be a hazard for marine life.

但美国地质调查局(US Geological Survey)的环境化学家米歇尔赫拉迪克(Michelle Hladik)表示，在这类杀虫剂方面，接触量与影响之间的关系还不太清楚。赫拉迪克说，戴维斯的实验中测试的大多数新烟碱的浓度都高得离谱，超出了野外所见的水平。但她补充说，即使是低剂量，也可能对海洋生物造成危害。

Though more research is needed to find the concentration thresholds at which neonics become harmful—something that Davis and her colleagues are trying to figure out—Hladik says their study is a step toward rectifying that gap in the knowledge.

虽然还需要更多的研究来发现，在浓度阈值下，新烟碱会变成有害的东西，戴维斯和她的同事们正试图弄清楚赫拉迪克说，他们的研究是朝着纠正这种知识差距迈出的一步。