Abstract
Ongoing declines of insect and bird populations have sparked urgent interest in understanding the causes. Many point to changes in modern farming practices that rely on hazardous pesticides to maintain crop production in highly simplified landscapes. This seminar will show the science on how current use pesticides and farming practices can harm insect communities and birds that use farmlands through diverse mechanisms of reduced prey, neurotoxicity, weight loss and altered migration patterns. I will also discuss some of the research that illustrates promising solutions that have the potential to shift the agricultural sector to be more sustainable.