[Leps-l] Mosquito Management that Protects People and Wetlands

[Matthew Shepherd]

This may not be as directly related to butterflies as some of the postings
on this listserv, but pesticide applications to wetlands for mosquito
management certainly impact butterflies that live adjacent to these areas.
Just look at the Miami blue and Schaus swallowtail in Florida!

 

Matthew

 

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New Report Provides Guidance on Mosquito Management that Protects People and
Wetlands

 

Download the report or a 4-page summary at
http://www.xerces.org/mosquito-management-wetlands/ 

 

PORTLAND, Ore.---A new report released today by the Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation shows that public education and targeted mosquito
management efforts are the best way to both protect communities from
mosquito-borne diseases and protect wetland health.

 

Ecologically Sound Mosquito Management in Wetlands reviews the history of
mosquito management in the United States, and describes current mosquito
management practices and their direct and indirect impact on nontarget
organisms. The report also recommends effective alternative approaches to
mosquito management, including public education, conserving natural enemies
and using state-of-the-art GIS surveillance. The report synthesizes over 450
publications to ensure the recommendations are based on the best available
science.

 

"Insecticides are the default mosquito management tool in most areas, and
each year tens of millions of acres of wetlands are treated with
pesticides," said Scott Hoffman Black, the Xerces Society's executive
director and coauthor of the report. "Their use is often reactive,
ineffective, and harmful to water quality and wildlife."

 

The most commonly used adulticides (pesticides that kill the adult
mosquitoes) are organophosphates and pyrethroids, broad-spectrum toxins that
severely impact nontarget invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and birds. They
have been implicated in declines of both wetland-associated and terrestrial
wildlife, including endangered butterflies that live near treated areas.
Larvicides (pesticides that kill the immature mosquitoes) are considered
less toxic, but even these can have a negative impact on the wetland
community by disrupting local food webs and harming nontarget organisms when
applied repeatedly throughout the season.

 

"The Centers for Disease Control stress the importance of reducing mosquito
abundance through site management and removing artificial containers in
which mosquitoes can breed," said Celeste Mazzacano, aquatic program
director for the Xerces Society and lead author of the report. "Public
education about eliminating mosquito breeding sites around the home and
taking personal protective measures is an effective way to prevent being
bitten."

 

Following these general principles, Ecologically Sound Mosquito Management
in Wetlands lays out a series of steps for land managers to take in
developing a site-specific, ecologically sound mosquito management plan.

 

Wildlife managers have serious concerns about the effects of mosquito
management practices on wildlife health and biodiversity. Their goals to
manage wetlands as natural areas to conserve sensitive fish, amphibians, and
birds and to reduce or eliminate pesticide impacts on water quality and the
food web are often at odds with vector control agencies' fear of increased
mosquito production. Protecting our remaining wetlands is critical; nearly
half of U.S. states have lost over 50% of their wetlands, and several have
lost more than 80%. It is increasingly important to develop wetland
management techniques that sustain the integrity and biodiversity of these
vulnerable ecosystems while simultaneously providing effective management of
an insect with serious public health and nuisance impacts.

 

Ecologically Sound Mosquito Management in Wetlands will help land managers
formulate site-specific mosquito management plans that balance the needs of
the environment with those of the human community, creating solutions to
mosquito issues that are both more effective and less toxic to the aquatic
ecosystem.

 

 

 

________

 

Matthew Shepherd

Communications Director

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

628 NE Broadway, Ste 200, Portland, OR 97232-1324, USA

 <mailto:mdshepherd at xerces.org> mdshepherd at xerces.org 

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 110

Toll free: 1-855-232 6639 ext. 110

Cell: (503) 807-1577

Fax: (503) 233-6794

 

Stay in touch:

 <http://www.xerces.org/> xerces.org
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Xerces-Society/193182577358618> Facebook
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<https://twitter.com/xerces_society> Twitter

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of
invertebrates and their habitat.

 

To join the Society, make a donation, or read about our work, please visit
<http://www.xerces.org/> www.xerces.org.

 

 

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