Rodenticide Incidents of Exposure and Adverse Effects on Non-Raptor Birds
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Science of the Total Environment 609 (2017) 68–76 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv Rodenticide incidents of exposure and adverse effects on non-raptor birds Nimish B. Vyas U.S·Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Beltsville Lab, BARC-East, Building 308, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, USA article info abstract Article history: Interest in the adverse effects of rodenticides on birds has focused primarily on raptors. However, non-raptor Received 3 April 2017 birds are also poisoned (rodenticide exposure resulting in adverse effects including mortality) by rodenticides Received in revised form 29 June 2017 through consumption of the rodenticide bait and contaminated prey. A literature search for rodenticide incidents Accepted 1 July 2017 (evidence of exposure to a rodenticide, adverse effects, or exposure to placebo baits) involving non-raptor birds Available online xxxx returned 641 records spanning the years 1931 to 2016. The incidents included 17 orders, 58 families, and 190 Editor: D. Barcelo non-raptor bird species. Nineteen anticoagulant and non-anticoagulant rodenticide active ingredients were asso- ciated with the incidents. The number of incidents and species detected were compared by surveillance method. An incident was considered to have been reported through passive surveillance if it was voluntarily reported to the authorities whereas the report of an incident found through field work that was conducted with the objective of documenting adverse effects on birds was determined to be from active surveillance. More incidents were re- ported from passive surveillance than with active surveillance but a significantly greater number of species were detected in proportion to the number of incidents found through active surveillance than with passive surveil- lance (z = 7.61, p b 0.01). Results suggest that reliance on only one surveillance method can underestimate the number of incidents that have occurred and the number of species that are affected. Although rodenticides are used worldwide, incident records were found from only 15 countries. Therefore, awareness of the breadth of species diversity of non-raptor bird poisonings from rodenticides may increase incident reportings and can strengthen the predictions of harm characterized by risk assessments. Published by Elsevier B.V. 1. Introduction (https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-incidents/introduction-pesticide- incidents). Hereafter I use the term ‘incident’ to also include ingestion of Rodenticides are used worldwide to protect agriculture, human placebo baits that were applied using operational application tech- health, and ecosystems from a variety of mammalian pests (Eason et niques. Placebo bait trials have been used to predict the risks to non-tar- al., 2015; United States Environmental Protection Agency, US EPA, get birds that may occur from rodenticide applications (e.g. McClelland, 2008). Rodenticides are broad-spectrum vertebrate control agents and 2002; Sztukowski and Kesler, 2013; Torr, 2002). I included placebo bait therefore they are also hazardous to birds. Monitoring for rodenticide exposures as incidents because the actual hazards to birds following ro- exposure and adverse effects on birds has generally focused on raptors denticide applications may exceed the risks predicted by the placebo (e.g. Christensen et al., 2012; Gómez-Ramírez et al., 2014; Thomas et bait trials and because rodenticide applications may be conducted de- al., 2011; Walker et al., 2015). However non-raptor bird mortalities spite observations of birds feeding on the placebo bait because the have occurred from feeding on rodenticide bait (primary exposure) risks are considered to be acceptable with respect to the long-term ben- and via secondary exposure through consumption of contaminated efits of the rodenticide application (e.g. Empson and Miskelly, 1999; prey (Berny et al., 1997; Sánchez-Barbudo et al., 2012; Spurr, 1994; McIlroy and Gifford, 1991). Vyas et al., 2013). Traditionally, the term ‘incident’ has been defined as Incident data provide insight into the hazards of rodenticides follow- an adverse effect (e.g. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/part/ ing operational applications. Below I summarize rodenticide incidents protect-proteger/incident/index-eng.php). Recently, the US EPA ex- of non-raptor bird species from literature spanning 1931–2016; provide panded this definition to include pesticide exposure or an adverse effect an overview of the anthropogenic, abiotic, and biotic factors that con- tribute to rodenticide exposure and poisoning; and discuss the influ- ence of active and passive surveillance methods on documenting the E-mail address: [email protected]. incidents. The overall objective of this paper is to increase awareness http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.004 0048-9697/Published by Elsevier B.V. N.B. Vyas / Science of the Total Environment 609 (2017) 68–76 69 of the breadth of rodenticide exposure and adverse effects to non-raptor Rodenticide applications specifically purposed for habitat and spe- birds. Knowledge that rodenticides are hazardous to non-raptor birds cies conservation (e.g. (e.g. for eradicating invasive non-target mam- can benefit their conservation by encouraging conscientious compli- mals on islands, Eason et al., 2015) were categorized as applications ance with the rodenticide label; increasing incident reporting by the for ecological restoration. The non-raptor bird incident records that ei- public; improving or establishing incident monitoring schemes that in- ther stated or reasonably implied that rodenticide applications were clude non-raptor birds; establishing or improving infrastructure for sur- conducted for human enterprises (e.g. agriculture, see Bildfell et al., veillance of non-raptor bird incidents, determination of their causality, 2013) were considered to be applications for human welfare. In some and release of incident records for public access; clarifying routes of ro- cases, operational rodenticide applications were conducted to deter- denticide exposure to raptors (Elliott et al., 2016); and by supporting mine their risks to birds (e.g. Elliott et al., 2014; McIlroy and Gifford, the predictions of harm characterized by risk assessments. 1991; Ramey and Sterner, 1995). These applications were considered to have been conducted for human welfare because although the stud- ies focused on bird exposure and adverse effects, the applications mim- 2. Methods icked those that are operationally conducted for human welfare and not for ecological restoration. 2.1. Literature search 2.2. Data analysis Iusedtheterms‘rodenticide’ and ‘bird’ to search the following data- bases to query literature on rodenticide effects on non-raptor birds: US A Spearman's correlation was run to assess the relationship between Geological Survey's Digital Desktop Library (http://internal.usgs.gov/ the number of incidents documented and the number of species report- library/), United States Department of Agriculture's AGRICultural OnLine ed in the incidents from 15 countries (http://www.socscistatistics.com/ Access (http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/), GreenFILE (greeninfoonline.com), tests/spearman/default2.aspx). Two-tailed, two sample z tests for pro- ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), IngeniaConnect (http:// portions (http://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/ztest/Default2.aspx) www.ingentaconnect.com/), Journal Storage (JSTOR, http://www.jstor. were performed to compare the number of species and the number of org/), BioOne (http://www.bioone.org/), Scopus (https://www.scopus. incidents reported with respect to the surveillance method and the pur- com/), Web of Science (http://apps.webofknowledge.com/), Google pose of the application. Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/), United Kingdom Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme reports. 3. Results and discussion (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pesticides/topics/reducing- environmental-impact/wildlife/wiis-quarterly-reports.htm; http:// 3.1. Overview www.hse.gov.uk/pesticides/topics/reducing-environmental-impact/ wildlife/annual-report-pesticide-poisoning-of-animals.htm; https:// My query showed that non-raptor birds consumed rodenticide-con- www.sasa.gov.uk/animal-poisoning-reports), and the US EPA Incident taining baits, placebo baits, and rodenticide contaminated prey. I found Data System records (https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and- 641 rodenticide incidents involving 17 Orders, 58 Families, and at least assessing-pesticide-risks/guidance-using-incident-data-evaluating- 190 non-raptor bird species (taxa of some birds were not specified to listed-and). A written request to the US EPA is required to acquire copies genus and species, ex. duck, Appendix 1). The magnitude of the inci- of individual incidents from its Incident Data System (R. Miller, US EPA, dents ranged from a single bird (e.g. Stone et al., 1999)topopulationde- pers. comm.). clines in areas treated with rodenticides (e.g. Apa et al., 1991; Howald et I reviewed all incident records retrieved by my query and discarded al., 1999, 2009; McClelland, 2002; Powlesland et al., 2000; Taylor, 1984). incidents from laboratory experiments (e.g. acute toxicity values in Nineteen anticoagulant and non-anticoagulant rodenticide active ingre- Godfrey, 1985; Spurr, 1993), duplications of incidents (e.g. an incident dients were associated with the incidents (Fig. 1). These rodenticides involving Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio