Silent killers? The widespread exposure of predatory nocturnal birds to anticoagulant rodenticides.

Autor: Cooke R; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood 3125, Vic., Australia. Electronic address: raylene.cooke@deakin.edu.au., Whiteley P; Wildlife Health Victoria: Surveillance, Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee 3030, Vic., Australia., Death C; Melbourne Veterinary School, The University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee, Vic., Australia., Weston MA; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood 3125, Vic., Australia., Carter N; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood 3125, Vic., Australia., Scammell K; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood 3125, Vic., Australia., Yokochi K; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood 3125, Vic., Australia., Nguyen H; National Measurement Institute, 1/153 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne 3207, Vic., Australia., White JG; Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood 3125, Vic., Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2023 Dec 15; Vol. 904, pp. 166293. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Aug 14.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166293
Abstrakt: Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) influence predator populations and threaten the stability of ecosystems. Understanding the prevalence and impact of rodenticides in predators is crucial to inform conservation planning and policy. We collected dead birds of four nocturnal predatory species across differing landscapes: forests, agricultural, urban. Liver samples were analysed for eight ARs: three First Generation ARs (FGARs) and five SGARs (Second Generation ARs). We investigated interspecific differences in liver concentrations and whether landscape composition influenced this. FGARs were rarely detected, except pindone at low concentrations in powerful owls Ninox strenua. SGARs, however, were detected in every species and 92 % of birds analysed. Concentrations of SGARs were at levels where potential toxicological or lethal impacts would have occurred in 33 % of powerful owls, 68 % of tawny frogmouths Podargus strigoides, 42 % of southern boobooks N. bookbook and 80 % of barn owls Tyto javanica. When multiple SGARs were detected, the likelihood of potentially lethal concentrations of rodenticides increased. There was no association between landscape composition and SGAR exposure, or the presence of multiple SGARs, suggesting rodenticide poisoning is ubiquitous across all landscapes sampled. This widespread human-driven contamination in wildlife is a major threat to wildlife health. Given the high prevalence and concentrations of SGARs in these birds across all landscape types, we support the formal consideration of SGARs as a threatening process. Furthermore, given species that do not primarily eat rodents (tawny frogmouths, powerful owls) have comparable liver rodenticide concentrations to rodent predators (southern boobook, eastern barn owl), it appears there is broader contamination of the food-web than anticipated. We provide evidence that SGARs have the potential to pose a threat to the survival of avian predator populations. Given the functional importance of predators in ecosystems, combined with the animal welfare impacts of these chemicals, we propose governments should regulate the use of SGARs.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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