Cholinesterase-inhibiting Insecticides: Their Impact on Wildlife and the Environment

Foremost specialists in the field of cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticides have contributed to this volume, to provide an accurate assessment of the impacts of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides on non-target organisms, especially wildlife. The increased scrutiny of pest control agents in recent years has resulted from several factors. These comprise the demands for environmental protection, the recognition of wildlife as a valuable and diminishing resource, and the realization that few wild habitats exist that pest control programs do not directly target or indirectly affect. In that context, the book brings together the scattered literature on the effects of anticholinesterase pesticides on wildlife and other non-target species. The literature has long been dominated by research emanating from the drug industry and the military. The therapeutic aspects of cholinergically-active substances and their potential as chemical warfare agents has directed research in the field. Thus the measurement of cholinesterase activity as a biomarker to assess the impact on wildlife species is a relatively recent phenomenon.