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Vyas NB, Rattner BA, Lockhart JM, Hulse CS, Rice CP, Kuncir F, Kritz K. Toxicological responses to sublethal anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in free-flying hawks. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2022; 29:74024-74037. [PMID: 35633457 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-20881-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
An important component of assessing the hazards of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife is observations in exposed free-ranging individuals. The objective of this study was to determine whether environmentally realistic, sublethal first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (FGAR) exposures via prey can result in direct or indirect adverse effects to free-flying raptors. We offered black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) that had fed on Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait (Rozol, 0.005% active ingredient chlorophacinone, CPN) to six wild-caught red-tailed hawks (RTHA, Buteo jamaicensis), and also offered black-tailed prairie dogs that were not exposed to Rozol to another two wild-caught RTHAs for 7 days. On day 6, blood was collected to determine CPN's effects on blood clotting time. On day 7, seven of the eight RTHAs were fitted with VHF radio telemetry transmitters and the RTHAs were released the following day and were monitored for 33 days. Prothrombin time (PT) and Russell's viper venom time confirmed that the CPN-exposed RTHAs were exposed to and were adversely affected by CPN. Four of the six CPN-exposed RTHAs exhibited ptiloerection, an indication of thermoregulatory dysfunction due to CPN toxicity, but no signs of intoxication were observed in the reference hawk or the remaining two CPN-exposed RTHAs. Of note is that PT values were associated with ptiloerection duration and frequency; therefore, sublethal CPN exposure can directly or indirectly evoke adverse effects in wild birds. Although our sample sizes were small, this study is a first to relate coagulation times to adverse clinical signs in free-ranging birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nimish B Vyas
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD, 20708, USA.
| | - Barnett A Rattner
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, c/o BARC-East, Building 308, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD, USA
| | - J Michael Lockhart
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD, 20708, USA
| | - Craig S Hulse
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, c/o BARC-East, Building 308, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD, USA
| | - Clifford P Rice
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA
| | - Frank Kuncir
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD, 20708, USA
| | - Kevin Kritz
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain Prairie Region, Migratory Bird Management Office, DFC, CO 80225-0486, Lakewood, P.O. Box 25486, Denver, CO, 80228, USA
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