title: Avian food selection with application to pesticide risk assessment: are dead and desiccated insects a desirable food source?
abstract: Past evaluations of pesticide exposure have been conducted with substantial uncertainty regarding avian consumption of contaminated food items. One question is whether birds consume invertebrates that are killed by a chemical application and that may present an increasing chemical concentration as they desiccate. We addressed the research question in two phases. First, a laboratory study was conducted in which wild-caught birds were individually offered three food choices, i.e., live, fresh-dead, and desiccated insect larvae. Second, these same food choices plus live, fresh-dead, and desiccated crickets were presented in study plots in two agricultural crops, i.e., a cornfield and an orchard. The experimental food items were monitored with videography equipment to determine their fate and to compare laboratory and field results. Laboratory results showed that birds have a strong preference for live and fresh-dead prey over desiccated prey, with live prey taken before fresh-dead prey in most trials. The field study revealed a similar preference for live prey over desiccated prey, with preference for fresh-dead prey intermediate to the two other types.
authors.affiliation: Springborn Smithers Laboratories, Avian Toxicology Division, Carolina Research Center, PO. Box 620, 2900 Quakenbush Road, Snow Camp, North Carolina 27349, USA. jstafford@springbornsmithers.com
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stafford
authors.forename: Larry W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gessaman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D020387:Food Chain; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005518:Food Preferences; D007313:Insecta; D007814:Larva; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D010573:Pesticide Residues