Effects of genetically modified maize events expressing Cry34Ab1, Cry35Ab1, Cry1F, and CP4 EPSPS proteins on arthropod complex food webs
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Four genetically modified (GM) maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids (coleopteran resistant, coleopteran and lepidopteran resistant, lepidopteran resistant and herbicide tolerant, coleopteran and herbicide tolerant) and its non-GM control maize stands were tested to compare the functional diversity of arthropods and to determine whether genetic modifications alter the structure of arthropods food webs. A total number of 399,239 arthropod individuals were used for analyses. The trophic groups’ number and the links between them indicated that neither the higher magnitude of Bt toxins (included resistance against insect, and against both insects and glyphosate) nor the extra glyphosate treatment changed the structure of food webs. However, differences in the average trophic links/trophic groups were detected between GM and non-GM food webs for herbivore groups and plants. Also, differences in characteristic path lengths between GM and non-GM food webs for herbivores were observed. Food webs parameterized based on 2-year in-field assessments, and their properties can be considered a useful and simple tool to evaluate the effects of Bt toxins on non-target organisms.
Date Issued
2017-03-08
Date Acceptance
2017-02-07
Citation
Ecology and Evolution, 2017, 7 (7), pp.2286-2293
ISSN
2045-7758
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
2286
End Page
2293
Journal / Book Title
Ecology and Evolution
Volume
7
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2017 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
characteristic path length
herbivores
non-target organisms
predators
trophic groups
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK-ASSESSMENT
BT-MAIZE
MODIFIED CROPS
NETWORKS
CORN
PREDATORS
MANAGEMENT
GRADIENT
Publication Status
Published