Avian food selection with application to pesticide risk assessment: are dead and desiccated insects a desirable food source?
Environ Toxicol Chem
; 22(6): 1335-9, 2003 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12785592
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.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Birds
/
Pesticide Residues
/
Food Contamination
/
Food Chain
/
Environmental Exposure
/
Food Preferences
/
Insecta
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Environ Toxicol Chem
Year:
2003
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States