Project description
Improving the evaluation of the risk to wild pollinators of pesticide exposure
Wild fauna and flora, particularly pollinators, face unprecedented threats from variable environmental disturbances, with anthropogenic chemicals like pesticides emerging as a major menace. In this context, the EU-funded WildPosh project aims to transcend disciplines and borders. Operating in England, Estonia, Germany, and Spain, the project delves into real-world agrochemical exposure, using fieldwork and controlled experiments on diverse pollinator species. For instance, controlled experiments on bees, syrphid flies, moths, and butterflies complement in silico data collection. The project’s objectives include building an open database, proposing risk assessment tools, and influencing policies through innovation. WildPosh is poised to redefine our approach to pollinator health.
Objective
Wild fauna and flora are facing variable and challenging environmental disturbances. One of the animal groups that is most impacted by this, concerns pollinators. Pollinators face multiple threats, but the spread of anthropogenic chemicals (i.e. pesticides) form a major potential driver of these threats. WildPosh is a multi-actor, transdisciplinary project whose overarching mission and ambition are to significantly improve the evaluation of risk to pesticide exposure of wild pollinators, and enhance the sustainable health of pollinators and pollination services in Europe. As chemical exposure varies geographically, across cropping systems, inside the crop system and among pollinators, we will characterise exposure by doing fieldwork in 4 countries representing the four main climatic European regions, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Continental and Boreal climate in Germany, England, Estonia and Spain. We will also develop experiments in controlled conditions on different species of bees, syrphid flies, moths and butterflies, and collect in silico data on their traits and on toxicity of pesticides. With WildPosh, we aim to achieve the following objectives:
1. Determining the real-world agrochemical exposure profile of wild pollinators at landscape level, within and among sites;
2. Using integrated and controlled laboratory and semi-field experiments to characterise causal relationships between pesticides and pollinator health;
3. Building an open database on pollinator traits/distribution and chemicals to define exposure and toxicity scenarios by developing databases on ecological traits and the spatial distribution of pollinators in relation to their potential exposure to pesticide;
4. Proposing integrated systems-based risk assessment tools for risk assessment for wild pollinators; and
5. Driving policy and practice through interactive innovation, meeting the need for monitoring tools, novel and innovative screening protocols for practice and policymaker use.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
7000 Mons
Belgium