This paper is relevant to the impact areas in the following areas:
| Crops | Cotton |
| Traits | Insect Res. (BT), Insect Resistance |
| Countries | US |
| Regions | North America |
| Tags | environmental, non-targets, US |
A 6-yr Þeld study assessed the long-term impact of Bt cotton producing the Cry1Ac -endotoxin on 22 taxa of foliar-dwelling arthropod natural enemies in Arizona. No chronic, long-term effects of Bt cotton were observed over multiple generations of nontarget taxa. Zero-2 taxa declined
signiÞcantly in unsprayed Bt compared with non-Bt cotton each year. In contrast, positive control studies showed that insecticide applications for caterpillars and other pests in both non-Bt and Bt cotton had much greater negative effects on 10 taxa. Multivariate principal response curves supported the Þndings of univariate analyses for the entire natural enemy community, showing no effect of Bt cotton but large and long-lasting negative effects from the use of insecticides. Multi-year analyses provided greater statistical power and indicated signiÞcant reductions that averaged 19% in Þve arthropod predator taxa in unsprayed Bt compared with non-Bt cotton. Most of these reductions were
likely associated with reductions in lepidopteran prey. However, results of a companion study examining natural enemy function suggest that these minor reductions in Bt cotton have little ecological meaning. Multi-year analyses showed an average signiÞcant reduction of 48% in 13 taxa for plots receiving insecticide applications. On average, a 3-yr study with four replicates per year was sufÞcient to discern changes of 20%, with 80% power in unsprayed cotton. This long-term study indicates that the effects of Bt cotton on a representative nontarget community are minor, especially in comparison with the alternative use of broad-spectrum insecticides. Guidelines for improving nontarget Þeld studies are discussed.
.
Long-Term Assessment of the Effects of Transgenic Bt Cotton on the Abundance of Nontarget Arthropod Natural Enemies (held on an external server, and so may require additional authentication details)
CropLife International fully acknowledges the source and authors of the publication as detailed above.