Anticoagulant Rodenticides and Wildlife: Introduction

Brink, N.W. van den; Elliott, John E.; Shore, Richard F.; Rattner, Barnett A.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-64377-9_1

Cited by 24 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(52 reference statements)

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Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…xvi Rodents have associated with humans since as early as the Neolithic era (van den Brink et al, 2018). They are seen as pests because of their effects on food and agricultural crops, their ability to act as reservoirs of disease, and their potential to damage human structures (van den Brink et al, 2018). Chemical compounds to reduce rodent populations (rodenticides) have been used for more than a century, and they remain in heavy use (Buckle and Smith, 2015;van den Brink et al, 2018).…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are seen as pests because of their effects on food and agricultural crops, their ability to act as reservoirs of disease, and their potential to damage human structures (van den Brink et al, 2018). Chemical compounds to reduce rodent populations (rodenticides) have been used for more than a century, and they remain in heavy use (Buckle and Smith, 2015;van den Brink et al, 2018). Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), or compounds that prevent blood from clotting, are the most commonly selected method to reduce commensal pests (van den Brink et al, 2018).…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chemical compounds to reduce rodent populations (rodenticides) have been used for more than a century, and they remain in heavy use (Buckle and Smith, 2015;van den Brink et al, 2018). Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs), or compounds that prevent blood from clotting, are the most commonly selected method to reduce commensal pests (van den Brink et al, 2018).…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indandione compounds include chlorophacinone, diphacinone, pindone and valone (Valchev et al, 2008). These rodenticides are further classified as either "first generation anticoagulant rodenticides" (FGARs), which are older and require multiple doses to be lethal, or "second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides" (SGARs), which are newer and only need a single-dose or "single-feed" to be effective (Valchev et al, 2008;van den Brink et al, 2018). FGARS include warfarin, pindone, coumafuryl, coumachlor, isovaleryl indanedione, chlorophacinone, and diphacinone and represent the initial ARs developed.…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings and Evaluation of a Novel Method to Rapidly Assess Exposure

Dickson¹

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Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are compounds commonly used to control rodent pests by inhibiting an enzyme critical for synthesis of clotting factors in their blood. Secondary and tertiary poisoning of non-target species frequently occur, especially of predators that consume rodents, including many species of raptors. Although raptor exposure to ARs has been documented on at least three continents, patterns, pathways and the sub-lethal effects of exposure are not well studied. This has created a substantial need to monitor the effects of ARs in free-living populations. I evaluated the prevalence of secondary, non-target exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides experienced by a predatory raptor, and I tested the performance and suitability of technology originally developed for human patients taking oral anticoagulant drugs as a novel way to rapidly assay for AR exposure in free-living raptors. To assess the risk of ARs to birds of prey in the western United States, I surveyed ferruginous hawk nestlings (Buteo regalis) in Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. These hawks inhabit shrub steppes, grasslands, and deserts, many of which are modified by agriculture, wind power, and oil and gas development. Rodenticides are often deployed in or near developed areas to reduce numbers of burrowing mammals. Targeted species include ground squirrels (Urocitellus spp.) and prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), which often compose a large proportion of ferruginous hawk diet. I evaluated the prevalence and concentrations of eight different ARs from 173 blood samples from ferruginous hawk nestlings at 60 nest sites in 2018 and 2019. I also collected 117 citrated plasma samples and analyzed them for biomarkers of AR exposure and indicators of sample quality: prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TCT), and fibrinogen concentration. To elucidate possible exposure pathways, I collected and analyzed 54 liver samples from hawk prey and four livers from opportunistically collected dead hawks. There were no ARs detected in any hawk blood or livers, but brodifacoum was present in one rodent liver at a minute concentration (0.003 ppm). Prothrombin time (PT) of 117 hawk nestlings averaged 29.8 ± 4.8 (SD) seconds (range: 21.3 – 41.2 sec). Sex was a strong predictor of PT, with female nestlings exhibiting longer PT. These findings aid in understanding the risk of AR exposure of ferruginous hawk nestlings in Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado and contribute important baseline information on PT of wild birds. I also evaluated the potential of a point-of-care device, the Coag-Sense® PT/INR Monitoring System manufactured by CoaguSense Inc. (Fremont, California), to rapidly detect AR exposure in living birds of prey. The Coag-Sense® device delivered repeatable (i.e., precise) PT measurements on avian blood samples collected from four species of migrating raptors (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient > 0.9). However, PT measurements reported by the Coag-Sense system from 81 ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) nestlings were not correlated (r = -0.017) to those measured by standardized laboratory techniques (i.e., the accuracy of the Coag-Sense® was low). The Coag-Sense® device therefore did not accurately measure PT in this species of bird and is unlikely to do so in other birds of prey, perhaps because it uses mammalian rather than avian thromboplastin as an activator of clotting. However, this device has potential use on non-human mammals.

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Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings and Evaluation of a Novel Method to Rapidly Assess Exposure

Dickson¹

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Climate oscillation and the invasion of alien species influence the oceanic distribution of seabirds

Perez-Correa

Carr

Meeuwig

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Spatial and temporal distribution of seabird transiting and foraging at sea is an important consideration for marine conservation planning. Using at‐sea observations of seabirds (n = 317), collected during the breeding season from 2012 to 2016, we built boosted regression tree (BRT) models to identify relationships between numerically dominant seabird species (red‐footed booby, brown noddy, white tern, and wedge‐tailed shearwater), geomorphology, oceanographic variability, and climate oscillation in the Chagos Archipelago. We documented positive relationships between red‐footed booby and wedge‐tailed shearwater abundance with the strength in the Indian Ocean Dipole, as represented by the Dipole Mode Index (6.7% and 23.7% contribution, respectively). The abundance of red‐footed boobies, brown noddies, and white terns declined abruptly with greater distance to island (17.6%, 34.1%, and 41.1% contribution, respectively). We further quantified the effects of proximity to rat‐free and rat‐invaded islands on seabird distribution at sea and identified breaking point distribution thresholds. We detected areas of increased abundance at sea and habitat use‐age under a scenario where rats are eradicated from invaded nearby islands and recolonized by seabirds. Following rat eradication, abundance at sea of red‐footed booby, brown noddy, and white terns increased by 14%, 17%, and 3%, respectively, with no important increase detected for shearwaters. Our results have implication for seabird conservation and island restoration. Climate oscillations may cause shifts in seabird distribution, possibly through changes in regional productivity and prey distribution. Invasive species eradications and subsequent island recolonization can lead to greater access for seabirds to areas at sea, due to increased foraging or transiting through, potentially leading to distribution gains and increased competition. Our approach predicting distribution after successful eradications enables anticipatory threat mitigation in these areas, minimizing competition between colonies and thereby maximizing the risk of success and the conservation impact of eradication programs.

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Anticoagulant Rodenticide Toxicity in Terrestrial Raptors: Tools to Estimate the Impact on Populations in North America and Globally

Elliott,

Silverthorn,

English

et al. 2024

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) have caused widespread contamination and poisoning of predators and scavengers. The diagnosis of toxicity proceeds from evidence of hemorrhage, and subsequent detection of residues in liver. Many factors confound the assessment of AR poisoning, particularly exposure dose, timing and frequency of exposure, and individual and taxon‐specific variables. There is a need, therefore, for better AR toxicity criteria. To respond, we compiled a database of second‐generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) residues in liver and postmortem evaluations of 951 terrestrial raptor carcasses from Canada and the United States, 1989 to 2021. We developed mixed‐effects logistic regression models to produce specific probability curves of the toxicity of ∑SGARs at the taxonomic level of the family, and separately for three SGARs registered in North America, brodifacoum, bromadiolone, and difethialone. The ∑SGAR threshold concentrations for diagnosis of coagulopathy at 0.20 probability of risk were highest for strigid owls (15 ng g−1) lower and relatively similar for accipitrid hawks and eagles (8.2 ng g−1) and falcons (7.9 ng g−1), and much lower for tytonid barn owls (0.32 ng g−1). These values are lower than those we found previously, due to compilation and use of a larger database with a mix of species and source locations, and also to refinements in the statistical methods. Our presentation of results on the family taxonomic level should aid in the global applicability of the numbers. We also collated a subset of 440 single‐compound exposure events and determined the probability of SGAR‐poisoning symptoms as a function of SGAR concentration, which we then used to estimate relative SGAR toxicity and toxic equivalence factors: difethialone, 1, brodifacoum, 0.8, and bromadiolone, 0.5. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1–11. © 2024 His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

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Anticoagulant Rodenticides and Wildlife: Introduction

Cited by 24 publications

References 55 publications

Prevalence of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings and Evaluation of a Novel Method to Rapidly Assess Exposure

Prevalence of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings and Evaluation of a Novel Method to Rapidly Assess Exposure

Climate oscillation and the invasion of alien species influence the oceanic distribution of seabirds

Anticoagulant Rodenticide Toxicity in Terrestrial Raptors: Tools to Estimate the Impact on Populations in North America and Globally

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