Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 August 2011
Regulators are acutely aware of the need for meaningful risk assessments to supportdecisions on the safety of GM crops to non-target invertebrates in determining theirsuitability for field release. We describe a process for developing appropriate, testablerisk hypotheses for invertebrates in agroecosystems that might be exposed to plantsdeveloped by GM and future novel technologies. An existing model (PRONTI) generates aranked list of invertebrate species for biosafety testing by accessing a database ofbiological, ecological and food web information about species which occur in croppingenvironments and their potential interactions with a particular stressor (EcoInvertebase). Our objective in this contribution is to explore and further utilise theseresources to assist in the process of problem formulation by identifying potentiallysignificant effects of the stressor on the invertebrate community and the ecosystemservices they provide. We propose that for high ranking species, a conceptual food webusing information in Eco Invertebase is constructed, and using an accepted regulatory riskanalysis framework, the likelihood of risk, and magnitude of impact for each link in thefood web is evaluated. Using as filters only those risks evaluated as likely to extremelylikely, and the magnitude of an effect being considered as moderate to massive, the mostsignificant potential effects can be identified. A stepwise approach is suggested todevelop a sequence of appropriate tests. The GM ryegrass plant used as the “stressor” inthis study has been modified to increase triacylglyceride levels in foliage by 100% toincrease the metabolisable energy content of forage for grazing animals. The high-ranking“test” species chosen to illustrate the concept are New Zealand native speciesWiseana cervinata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae),Persectania aversa (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), and theself-introduced grey field slug, Deroceras reticulatum (Müller).