Publications & Downloads

Neuwoehner (2017) Chances and Challenges in Regulatory Ecotoxicological Mixture Toxicity Assessment for Plant Protection Products

Lückmann et al. (2017) Fenoxycarb, a suitable reference item in semi-field testing on the solitary bee Osmia bicornis (L., 1758) (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae)?

According to the ‘EFSA Guidance Document on the risk assessment of plant protection on bees’, not only honeybees but also bumble bees and solitary bees have to be considered for the first time. But for testing of solitary bees under laboratory, semi-field and field conditions no official test guideline exists.

Jakoby et al. (2017) Evaluating Ecological Recovery in Mechanistic Effect Models for Environmental Risk Assessment

In environmental risk assessments (ERA) for plant protection products (PPP) one possible protection goal option at the population level is recovery (EFSA, 2016). This recovery option accepts “some population-level effects of a potential stressor if recovery takes place within an accepted time period”.

Ludwigs et al. (2017) Skylarks nesting in pesticide-treated fields compared to those nesting in non-treated agricultural land and main reasons for complete nest loss

Pesticides are commonly considered a cause of species decline in farmland. In the past, most studies have focused on acute effects of pesticides on adult birds or on indirect effects on offspring (e.g. mortality due to limited food resources as a result of pesticide use).

Nikisch, Llandera, Lutz (2017) Step4ward – An Efate Toolbox

‘Step4ward’ is a user-friendly Windows® toolbox to automate PECsw calculations, extract data from the current models FOCUS TOXSWA and SWAN and create MS Word® tables in the current dRR format.

Lückmann, Becker (2015) Honeybee brood studies under field conditions: Is there a difference of the brood termination rate compared to semi-field studies?

Based on EU Regulation 1107/2009/EC the current regulatory risk assessment on bees has to address the risk to honeybee larvae or honeybee brood. According to the data requirements under EC 1107/2009 Commission Regulation 284/2013 and the proposed EFSA Bee Guidance Document (EFSA 2014), both the Oomen bee brood feeding test (OOMEN et al. 1992) as well as the OECD Guidance Document 75 (OECD 2007) (hereafter called OECD GD 75) are given as the two higher tier options to refine the risk on honeybee brood if concerns are raised in tier 1.

Ludwigs et al. (2015) A statistical approach for selecting the most appropriate PT value for long-term wildlife risk assessments

In higher tier Risk Assessments (RAs) for Birds and Mammals, exposure takes into account the ‘portion of food taken from the treated area’, addressed by the surrogate parameter portion of time spent by birds or mammals potentially foraging in treated fields (the so-called PT value).

Nickisch, Krömer (2015) A standardised approach to identify worst-case FOCUS surface water exposure profiles in aquatic pulsed exposure events

The outcome of Tier 1 risk assessment for plant protection products frequently calls for the use of higher tier approaches to evidence an acceptable risk to aquatic organisms. In this context, laboratory pulsed exposure experiments can be used to test the effects of varying exposure concentrations on the mortality and/or immobilization of organisms.

Nickisch, Erlacher (2014) Modelling concentrations of PPP in ground water after spray application to hop

Hop is not available as crop in the FOCUS groundwater models. In this study we tested if it is necessary to consider the singularity of a crop for the registration of a pesticide or if it is possible to use one of the existent FOCUS crops as a surrogate. Calculations were performed for the non-FOCUS crop hop using hop specific data (e.g. LAI) derived from field measurements.

Lutzmann et al. (2012) Appendix: List of reptile species and their potential occurrence in agricultural habitats

Murfitt et al. (2012) Bird focal species for pesticide risk assessment in orchards in Spain

This poster summarises the findings of Syngenta studies to identify focal species in four orchard crops in Spain. The aim is to show focal species for pesticide risk assessments in these crops and also to demonstrate the main principles involved in focal species selection.

Gerlach, Schabacker, Ludwigs (2012) Granivorous birds - Exposure reduction by de-husking behaviour

Granivorous birds of the families Passeridae (sparrows), Fringillidae (finches) and Emberizidae (buntings) are known to de-husk seeds prior to consumption. De-husking is an inhered behavioral trait of these species groups. A specialised beak structure allows the birds to crack seeds and discard the husk (i.e. de-husking) before swallowing the kernel – this was described in detail already by Ziswiler (1965).