Selecting test species for early-tier risk assessment studies of insect-resistant transgenic crops

Arthropods are a major part of the faunal biodiversity in many agricultural landscapes and include pest species, species that provide important ecosystem services and rare or endangered species. Consequently, certain arthropods or the ecosystem service they provide are regarded as entities to be protected from pest control measures including chemical insecticides, biological control agents, and transgenic crops. The potential of these pest-control methods to adversely affect valued arthropods thus is a common area of concern addressed in environmental risk assessments for use pest-control products. In this presentation we examine approaches used to select test species for evaluating risks posed by use of pesticides and biological control agents. The rationale behind these approaches will then be applied to develop standardized and robust methods for selection of test species for early tier risk assessment studies of insect-resistant transgenic crops.