Holistic environmental risk assessment for bees.

Abstract

In January, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposed a honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) pesticide risk assessment that uses a systems approach ([ 1 ][1]). The strategy accounts for multiple stressors and sub-lethal effects, unlike current assessments. We support this long-awaited paradigm shift for environmental risk assessment. However, the initial focus on honey bees alone is not enough to protect the majority of pollinators, nor will it help substantively address the plight of biodiversity. Therefore, EFSA should augment the approach to include more relevant species. Although there are many socio-political, historical, and practical advantages for honey bees as a model, this bee species is an exceptional case in the bee world. Honey bee colonies are superorganisms whose social organization provides a highly resilient buffer against environmental stressors that solitary and less social bees lack. They are nurtured by beekeepers, who provide shelter, supplementary food, and disease control. Honey bees are a good place to start, given how much we know about them and their place in the public eye, but they are simply not representative of most wild bee species that provide the bulk of pollination services. The overall bee–environment interaction would be better represented by extending the EFSA approach to more representative bee species. Establishing which species are good analogs for modeling other, more vulnerable bee species should be prioritized. Knowledge should then be gathered for such species to allow modeling of other bee species, and ideally other non-target organisms. The environmental and toxicological context should also be modeled and monitored accurately to provide high-quality inputs to the species models. These steps would support a much more rigorous environmental risk assessment and would enhance this already long-awaited and necessary paradigm shift ([ 2 ][2]). 1. [↵][3]EFSA, “Public consultation on the draft EFSA Scientific Committee Opinion on a systems-based approach to the environmental risk assessment of multiple stressors in honey bees” (2021); [www.efsa.europa.eu/en/consultations/call/public-consultation-draft-efsa-scientific-committee-opinion-1][4]. 2. [↵][5]1. C. J. Topping, 2. A. Aldrich, 3. P. Berny , Science 367, 360 (2020). [OpenUrl][6][Abstract/FREE Full Text][7] C.J.T. is vice chair of the EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues, which is a scientific support to EFSA for regulatory issues for pesticides. All authors are affiliated with PoshBee ( ). [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-2 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [4]: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/consultations/call/public-consultation-draft-efsa-scientific-committee-opinion-1 [5]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [6]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.aulast%253DTopping%26rft.auinit1%253DC.%2BJ.%26rft.volume%253D367%26rft.issue%253D6476%26rft.spage%253D360%26rft.epage%253D363%26rft.atitle%253DOverhaul%2Benvironmental%2Brisk%2Bassessment%2Bfor%2Bpesticides%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.aay1144%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F31974232%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [7]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6Mzoic2NpIjtzOjU6InJlc2lkIjtzOjEyOiIzNjcvNjQ3Ni8zNjAiO3M6NDoiYXRvbSI7czoyNDoiL3NjaS8zNzEvNjUzMi84OTcuMS5hdG9tIjt9czo4OiJmcmFnbWVudCI7czowOiIiO30=