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967551
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2018-09-04more like thismore than 2018-09-04
star this property answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept id 13 more like this
star this property answering dept short name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept sort name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property hansard heading Starlings more like this
star this property house id 2 more like this
star this property legislature
25277
star this property pref label House of Lords more like this
star this property question text To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of low concentrations of anti-depressants on the courtship and breeding of starlings. more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Lord Tebbit more like this
star this property uin HL10033 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer remove filter
star this property answer text <p>The experiments conducted by University of York in collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) demonstrated that exposing starlings to a maximal environmentally relevant concentration of an anti-depressant (fluoxetine) altered courtship behaviour in wild-caught starlings (<em>Sturnus vulgaris</em>). The males sang less and were more aggressive towards females that had been dosed with an anti-depressant than to the untreated females and in addition the treated females were also initially more aggressive towards males than the untreated females. However there were no effects on female courtship behaviour or on circulating female hormones in treated females. These findings suggest that exposure to this dose of anti-depressant reduced female attractiveness to the male but the reasons why are not clear. Whether these levels of anti-depressants in the environment would have a significant effect on an individual’s fitness or the population as a whole requires further investigation.</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2018-09-17T12:36:31.22Zmore like thismore than 2018-09-17T12:36:31.22Z
star this property answering member
4161
star this property label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
unstar this property tabling member
952
unstar this property label Biography information for Lord Tebbit remove filter
967550
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2018-09-04more like thismore than 2018-09-04
star this property answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept id 13 more like this
star this property answering dept short name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept sort name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property hansard heading Sewage: Water Treatment more like this
star this property house id 2 more like this
star this property legislature
25277
star this property pref label House of Lords more like this
star this property question text To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research by the Environment Department at the University of York which found that worms, maggots and flies at sewage treatment plants contain traces of many drugs, including anti-depressants. more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Lord Tebbit more like this
star this property uin HL10032 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer remove filter
star this property answer text <p>Researchers at the University of York have published in a peer reviewed journal that earthworms collected at sewage treatment plants contained mean concentrations of 26.20±4.70 ng/g of the anti-depressant fluoxetine (trade name Prozac) (Bean et al. 2017). In a recent paper concerning the effects of low, environmental relevant, concentrations of Prozac on the courtship of starlings (Whitlock et al. 2018), they also refer to work by other researchers showing earthworms at sewage treatment plants to contain other contaminants including pharmaceuticals (Markman et al. 2007 &amp; 2008). There are many other studies globally showing uptake of pharmaceuticals into a variety of invertebrate species.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The uptake of pharmaceutical residues from sewage, sewage effluent and sewage sludge has been shown to negatively impact invertebrates themselves and provides a clear route of exposure to many species of wildlife including birds and bats. The full significance of this is still being assessed.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Bean, T. G., Arnold, K. E., Lane, J., Bergstrom, E., Thomas-Oates, J. E., Rattner, B., &amp; Boxall, A. B. A. (2017). Predictive framework for estimating exposure of birds to pharmaceuticals. <em>Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry</em>. DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.3771" target="_blank">10.1002/etc.3771</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Markman S,Guschina I,Barnsley S,Buchanan K,Pascoe D,et al. (2007) Endocrine disrupting chemicals accumulate in earthworms exposed to sewage effluent. Chemosphere 70: 119–125.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Markman S, Leitner S, Catchpole C, Barnsley S, Müller CT, Pascoe D, et al. (2008) Pollutants Increase Song Complexity and the Volume of the Brain Area HVC in a Songbird. PLoS ONE 3(2): e1674. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001674</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sophia E. Whitlock, M. Glória Pereira, Richard F. Shore, Julie Lane, Kathryn E. Arnold. Environmentally relevant exposure to an antidepressant alters courtship behaviours in a songbird. <em>Chemosphere</em>, 2018; 211: 17 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.07.074" target="_blank">10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.07.074</a></p><p> </p><p>(12/12)</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2018-09-17T12:37:26.273Zmore like thismore than 2018-09-17T12:37:26.273Z
star this property answering member
4161
star this property label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
unstar this property tabling member
952
unstar this property label Biography information for Lord Tebbit remove filter
967548
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2018-09-04more like thismore than 2018-09-04
star this property answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept id 13 more like this
star this property answering dept short name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept sort name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property hansard heading Starlings more like this
star this property house id 2 more like this
star this property legislature
25277
star this property pref label House of Lords more like this
star this property question text To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of studies by the British Trust for Ornithology which show that the population of starlings has fallen by 66 per cent since the 1970s. more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Lord Tebbit more like this
star this property uin HL10031 more like this
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer remove filter
star this property answer text <p>The Government is aware of the British Trust for Ornithology data on starlings. The Government’s wild bird statistics that measure relative abundance show decreases for starlings of 81% in the long term (1970-2015) and 5% in the short term (2010-2015).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The cause of the decline in starlings, although not fully understood, is likely to be linked to food availability and over winter survival. To support starlings and other birds there are agri-environment scheme options that aim to boost food availability. In the period 2008-2014, farms in Higher Level Stewardship agreements, specifically undertaking bird friendly management options, found a sustained 79% increase in starling abundance.</p><p> </p> more like this
star this property answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2018-09-17T12:38:53.41Zmore like thismore than 2018-09-17T12:38:53.41Z
star this property answering member
4161
star this property label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
unstar this property tabling member
952
unstar this property label Biography information for Lord Tebbit remove filter