Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 8 June 2007:
Vol. 316. no. 5830, pp. 1475 - 1477
DOI: 10.1126/science.1139208
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

A Meta-Analysis of Effects of Bt Cotton and Maize on Nontarget Invertebrates

Michelle Marvier,1* Chanel McCreedy,1 James Regetz,2 Peter Kareiva1,3

Although scores of experiments have examined the ecological consequences of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops, debates continue regarding the nontarget impacts of this technology. Quantitative reviews of existing studies are crucial for better gauging risks and improving future risk assessments. To encourage evidence-based risk analyses, we constructed a searchable database for nontarget effects of Bt crops. A meta-analysis of 42 field experiments indicates that nontarget invertebrates are generally more abundant in Bt cotton and Bt maize fields than in nontransgenic fields managed with insecticides. However, in comparison with insecticide-free control fields, certain nontarget taxa are less abundant in Bt fields.

1 Environmental Studies Institute, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA.
2 National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), University of California at Santa Barbara, 735 State Street, Suite 300, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, USA.
3 The Nature Conservancy, 4722 Latona Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mmarvier{at}scu.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Extrapolating non-target risk of Bt crops from laboratory to field.
J. J. Duan, J. G. Lundgren, S. Naranjo, and M. Marvier (2009)
Biol Lett
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A field-grown transgenic tomato line expressing higher levels of polyamines reveals legume cover crop mulch-specific perturbations in fruit phenotype at the levels of metabolite profiles, gene expression, and agronomic characteristics.
A. Neelam, T. Cassol, R. A. Mehta, A. A. Abdul-Baki, A. P. Sobolev, R. K. Goyal, J. Abbott, A. L. Segre, A. K. Handa, and A. K. Mattoo (2008)
J. Exp. Bot. 59, 2337-2346
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Editor's Choice Series: The Next Generation of Biotech Crops.
S. J. Martino-Catt and E. S. Sachs (2008)
Plant Physiology 147, 3-5
   Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)