Data from: Neonicotinoids impact all aspects of bird life: A meta-analysis

Worldwide, bird populations are declining dramatically. This is especially
the case in intensely used agricultural areas where the application of
neonicotinoid insecticides is thought to – unintendedly – cause a cascade
of negative impacts throughout food webs. Additionally, there could be
direct (sub-) lethal impacts of neonicotinoids on birds, but to date there
is no comprehensive quantitative assessment to confirm or rule out this
possibility. Therefore, we use a meta-analytical approach synthesizing
1612 effect sizes from 49 studies, and show that neonicotinoids
consistently harm bird health, behavior, reproduction, and survival. Thus,
in addition to reduced food availability, the negative direct effects of
exposure to neonicotinoids likely contribute to bird population declines
globally. Our outcomes are pivotal to consider in future risk assessments
and pesticide policy: despite localized bans, the metabolites and residues
of neonicotinoids remain present in the environment and in birds and will
thus have long-lasting direct effects on both the individual and the
population level.