A SYNOPSIS O F THE PKSTICIDIC PROBLEM
77
the situation had arisen. The new ecological factor may be ignored
because it is technological. The medieval notion that man exists
“outside” nature still survives; its unfortunate corollary is that manmade factors like pesticides are considered to be unsuitable subjects
for fundamental study. The pesticide problem is essentially about
population ecology, and the principal difficulties of pest control and
the control of pesticides result from the lack of fundamental ecological
knowledge. It is, therefore, particularly unfortunate that it has received
relatively little notice from ecologists.
On the other hand the general public has not been slow to grasp the
simcance of pesticides; it has taken an almost obsessional interest in
the subject. Few technical problems have received so much attention
in the press and elsewhere. One of the reasons for this state of affairs is
simple; there is the fear of being poisoned. Others are more complex
and deserve objective study. There is a widespread fear of too rapid
technological advance and change in the environment. It appears that
the killing of wildlife by pesticides has become symbolic of the modern
predicament and as a result pesticides appear to have become a whipping boy for all modern changes. Public interest in the subject may
have had the effect of frightening away some scientists in the same way
that popular interest in certain taxa, notably birds and Lepidoptera,
at one time reduced the amount of scientific work done on these groups
which otherwise are particularly suitable for investigation.
Despite the lack of theoretical interest a great deal has been published
on pesticides, mainly by those concerned with crop protection and by
those concerned with the harmful side effects to man, domestic animals
and wildlife. Chemical firms are concerned primarily with making profits
from the sale of pesticides, therefore most of their scientific resources
go towards the discovery of new pesticides and towards testing them
for short-term efficiency and safety. The emphasis in biological work
is on field trials to discover the effects of new pesticides on pest species
and on toxicological studies on laboratory animals to discover hazards
to man and domestic animals. Very little of the work of chemical firms
producing pesticides is ecological. Government agricultural research
reinforces the work of the firms and extends it to cover some
ecological aspects, but again the emphasis is on the immediate effects
of chemicals on the pests and so there is relatively little work on
population ecology. In recent years concern with the side-effects of
pesticides on wildlife species has led to numerous studies on this subject
by both Government and private organizations, mainly in the U.S.A.
and Great Britain.
We have to conclude that most work on the effects of pesticides on
living organisms does not progress further than toxicology or the field
77
the situation had arisen. The new ecological factor may be ignored
because it is technological. The medieval notion that man exists
“outside” nature still survives; its unfortunate corollary is that manmade factors like pesticides are considered to be unsuitable subjects
for fundamental study. The pesticide problem is essentially about
population ecology, and the principal difficulties of pest control and
the control of pesticides result from the lack of fundamental ecological
knowledge. It is, therefore, particularly unfortunate that it has received
relatively little notice from ecologists.
On the other hand the general public has not been slow to grasp the
simcance of pesticides; it has taken an almost obsessional interest in
the subject. Few technical problems have received so much attention
in the press and elsewhere. One of the reasons for this state of affairs is
simple; there is the fear of being poisoned. Others are more complex
and deserve objective study. There is a widespread fear of too rapid
technological advance and change in the environment. It appears that
the killing of wildlife by pesticides has become symbolic of the modern
predicament and as a result pesticides appear to have become a whipping boy for all modern changes. Public interest in the subject may
have had the effect of frightening away some scientists in the same way
that popular interest in certain taxa, notably birds and Lepidoptera,
at one time reduced the amount of scientific work done on these groups
which otherwise are particularly suitable for investigation.
Despite the lack of theoretical interest a great deal has been published
on pesticides, mainly by those concerned with crop protection and by
those concerned with the harmful side effects to man, domestic animals
and wildlife. Chemical firms are concerned primarily with making profits
from the sale of pesticides, therefore most of their scientific resources
go towards the discovery of new pesticides and towards testing them
for short-term efficiency and safety. The emphasis in biological work
is on field trials to discover the effects of new pesticides on pest species
and on toxicological studies on laboratory animals to discover hazards
to man and domestic animals. Very little of the work of chemical firms
producing pesticides is ecological. Government agricultural research
reinforces the work of the firms and extends it to cover some
ecological aspects, but again the emphasis is on the immediate effects
of chemicals on the pests and so there is relatively little work on
population ecology. In recent years concern with the side-effects of
pesticides on wildlife species has led to numerous studies on this subject
by both Government and private organizations, mainly in the U.S.A.
and Great Britain.
We have to conclude that most work on the effects of pesticides on
living organisms does not progress further than toxicology or the field