--- title: "📩 SYBERAC Project Newsletter: Fifth Edition" --- 🌱 5 new SYBERAC publications, exciting fieldwork, interviews on agricultural management & modelling, EFSA, PARC, & more! ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­   | View in browser SYBERAC's latest developments October 2026 Time is running, and the leaves are already starting to change colours. While some animals are going into hibernation, our project team has no intention of doing so! Instead, we will analyse the data collected during the field seasons, prepare further publications and our final project year, 2027.   We have been active since our last newsletter in March! We were busy with numerous publications, contributions to PARC 6.4.4., connecting to EU-level officials for interviews, a consortium meeting in Portugal, building and improving our models, and of course, the field research season. Learn more in SYBERAC newsletter #5!   SYBERAC Research Highlights Publications   Acute mortality in sand martins (Riparia riparia) and barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) linked to dermal or inhalation pyrethroid insecticide exposure This article by our partners from University of Wageningen explores how birds can also be affected by pesticides beyond their diet — through skin contact or inhalation.   Authors: Aafke Saarloos, Maarten Schrama, Henrik Barmentlo, Judith van den Brand, Natashja Ennen-Buijs, Reina Sikkema, Wouter Bakker, Tijs van den Berg, and Nico van den Brink. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enceco.2026.03.019 Article: Dermal death? New publication on birds’ insecticide exposure   Practitioners’ perspectives on EU environmental risk assessment for plant protection products Prospective environmental risk assessment (ERA) is central to regulatory decision-making for plant protection products (PPPs) in the European Union (EU). Although the current framework is generally considered procedurally mature and harmonised, concerns remain about its efficiency, growing complexity, and capacity to reflect real-world environmental conditions. To explore these issues, this policy brief draws on a survey of regulatory practitioners across Europe and follow-up workshops organised under PARC in collaboration with PollinERA and SYBERAC.   Authors: James Henty Williams, Yann Devos, Annette Aldrich, Kristina Christensen, Sabine Duquesne, Vanessa Mazerolles, Natasha Mølgaard and Johan Axelman. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-026-01538-x   Tracing Veterinary Pharmaceuticals through Regurgitated Pellets: A Noninvasive Monitoring Approach to Assess Exposure in Avian Scavengers The latest publication of our partners from the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM) examines regurgitated pellets as a potential noninvasive method to monitor vulture exposure to pharmaceuticals. It could also be used to monitor other threatened avian scavengers' exposure to pharmaceuticals from feeding on carcasses of medicated livestock.   Authors: Nelly Arlot, Marta Herrero-Villar and Rafael Mateo DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c01303 Article: What Vulture Pellets Reveal about Veterinary Drugs   Trait-Based Specific Protection Goals for Wild Pollinators: A Staged Modelling Framework for Pesticide Risk Assessment Wild pollinator populations in the European Union lack defined, quantitative Specific Protection Goals (SPGs) for pesticide risk assessment. This paper presents a pragmatic, staged framework combining trait-based species selection with demographic toxicity assessment.   Authors: Christopher Topping, Andreas Focks, Serio Albacete González, Celeste Azpiazu Segovia, and 56 more DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-10019161/v1   Pesticide residue patterns in soil and earthworms across agricultural land uses and their relevance to earthworm-consuming wildlife A study of 26 agricultural fields in the Netherlands screened soil and earthworms for 648 pesticides, revealing residue patterns linked to land use and farming history. Pesticide patterns in earthworms largely mirrored those in the soil, highlighting a potential route of exposure for wildlife that feeds on them.   Authors: Aafke I. Saarloos, Paul J. van den Brink, Jos C.E.W. Hooijmeijer, Theunis Piersma, Nico W. van den Brink DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2026.11080 All SYBERAC Publications SYBERAC in the Spotlight at EFSA We are proud to share that SYBERAC has been officially cited in EFSA’s latest regulatory protocols regarding plant protection products (PPPs). In their new publication mapping out the future of environmental risk assessment for non-target species, EFSA highlights SYBERAC as a vital ongoing project whose outcomes will help shape European guidance alongside PollinERA, WildPosh, and EcoStack. Read: https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2026.10228 PARC Report Highlights Collaborative Work with SYBERAC The European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) has officially accepted and published its deliverable report (AD 6.7), “Risk assessment to support and promote efficient overall protection of biodiversity - collaborative approaches for effectiveness and resource efficiency.” The report highlights valuable synergies with SYBERAC and sister project PollinERA, notably our joint surveys and workshops engaging risk assessors on plant protection products (PPPs). Read: https://www.eu-parc.eu/deliverables Fieldwork Researching pesticide-effects in Portugal The University of Coimbra team is studying the impact of pesticides on arthropods and soil organisms in Portuguese vineyards (Bairrada) by using pitfall traps, suction devices, and soil sampling over several months. Biodiversity research, giant cookie-cutter style to collect mesocosms Alex Robinson and the UKCEH team extract intact soil "mesocosms" using a custom drill at Hope Farm to realistically study the mixture toxicity of fungicides on soil microbes. Ecosystem Sentinels: What Bats Tell Us About Pesticides in the Ebro Delta The CSIC team investigates the hidden impacts of rice farming pesticides on biodiversity in Spain's Ebro Delta by monitoring local bat colonies. From Coimbra University’s Classrooms to Bairrada’s Vines: Inside the SYBERAC Consortium Meeting How do field margins, forests, and monocultures alter the real-world impacts of pesticides on non-target species like beetles and soil organisms? Late last month, the SYBERAC team met at the University of Coimbra and ventured into the vineyards of Bairrada to study landscape gradients alongside local winemakers. Explore what we learned and how it is shaping our holistic framework for EU environmental risk assessment. Read more Interviews Álex Navarro Franch, rice farmer and agricultural manager in the Ebro Delta, discusses the importance of good agricultural practices in mitigating pesticide impacts. Read his full interview here (available in Catalan, too). Louise Wipfler, leader of SYBERAC's Work Package 3, explains the shift from single-substance testing to a holistic, landscape-level approach for environmental risk assessment, and how new modelling tools will provide a better understanding of chemical impacts on ecosystems. Read her full interview here. Upcoming events Bold = SYBERAC partners present 1st Wildlife Ecotoxicology Conference \| 13–15 Jan 2027 \| Murcia, Spain SETAC Europe 2027 \| 25–29 Apr 2027 \| Geneva, Switzerland All events Yordas Group part of 3E, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, Lancashire LA14YQ, United Kingdom Unsubscribe Manage preferences | | --- |