A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds

Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic insecticides widely used as seed treatments, but little is known of their effects on migrating birds that forage in agricultural areas. We tracked the migratory movements of imidacloprid-exposed songbirds at a landscape scale using a combination of experimental dosing a...

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Veröffentlicht in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Jg. 365; H. 6458; S. 1177
Hauptverfasser: Eng, Margaret L, Stutchbury, Bridget J M, Morrissey, Christy A
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: United States 13.09.2019
Schlagworte:
Animal Migration
Animals
Body Composition
Feeding Behavior
Insecticides - toxicity
Neonicotinoids - toxicity
Nitro Compounds - toxicity
Ontario
Sparrows - physiology
Ontario
ISSN:1095-9203, 1095-9203
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Zusammenfassung:Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic insecticides widely used as seed treatments, but little is known of their effects on migrating birds that forage in agricultural areas. We tracked the migratory movements of imidacloprid-exposed songbirds at a landscape scale using a combination of experimental dosing and automated radio telemetry. Ingestion of field-realistic quantities of imidacloprid (1.2 or 3.9 milligrams per kilogram body mass) by white-crowned sparrows ( ) during migratory stopover caused a rapid reduction in food consumption, mass, and fat and significantly affected their probability of departure. Birds in the high-dose treatment stayed a median of 3.5 days longer at the site of capture after exposure as compared with controls, likely to regain fuel stores or recover from intoxication. Migration delays can carry over to affect survival and reproduction; thus, these results confirm a link between sublethal pesticide exposure and adverse outcomes for migratory bird populations.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aaw9419