Temporal Persistence of Bromadiolone in Decomposing Bodies of Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Abstract

Bromadiolone is a second generation anticoagulant rodenticide (SGAR) used to control pest rodents worldwide. SGARs are frequently involved in secondary poisoning in rodent predators due to their persistence and toxicity. This study aims to evaluate the persistence of bromadiolone in liver at different stages of carcass decomposition in experimentally-dosed common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) to understand the possibility of detecting bromadiolone in cases of wildlife poisoning and the potential risk of tertiary poisoning. Twelve individuals were divided into the bromadiolone-dose group (dosed with 55 mg/kg b.w) and the control group. Hepatic bromadiolone concentrations found in each stage of decomposition were: 3000, 2891, 4804, 4245, 8848, and 756 ng/g dry weight at 1–2 h (fresh carcass), 24 h (moderate decomposition), 72 h, 96 h (advanced decomposition), seven days (very advanced decomposition), and 15 days (initial skeletal reduction) after death, respectively. Liver bromadiolone concentrations in carcasses remained relatively stable over the first four days and raised on day 7 of decomposition under the specific conditions of this experiment, presenting a risk of causing tertiary poisoning. However, at the initial skeletal reduction stage, liver bromadiolone concentration declined, which should be considered to interpret toxicological analyses and for proper diagnosis. This experimental study provides for the first time some light to better understand the degradation of SGARs in carcasses in the wild.

Interest of the faecal and plasma matrix for monitoring the exposure of wildlife or domestic animals to anticoagulant rodenticides

“…Larger studies will be necessary to develop these hypotheses. In parallel, it will be necessary to verify the conservation of the diastereoisomer proportions in faeces and liver, depending on their state of conservation [62], as well as the homogeneity of concentrations and proportions of diastereomers in faeces. Indeed, previous studies suggest that ARs are not homogeneously distributed in the latter [32] In our study, faeces samples were mixed and homogenized prior to bromadiolone extraction, which does…”

Developing a European network of analytical laboratories and government institutions to prevent poisoning of raptors

“…Necropsies are an important step in the study of poisoning cases since they provide much information before the laboratory analysis (Valverde et al, 2020a(Valverde et al, , 2020b. Table S1 compiles information about necropsy questions.…”

“…Coming back to the example of ARs, these products are frequently involved in incidental cases due to a misuse or secondary poisoning, mostly not only because of their widespread use to control rodent population (Lambert et al, 2007;Ruiz-Suárez et al, 2014;Sánchez-Barbudo et al, 2012), but also because of their high persistence in organs and tissues of poisoned rodents (Gray et al, 1994). These ARs can also persist in carcasses, presenting a risk of causing tertiary poisoning (Valverde et al, 2020a). Integrated pest management (IPM) uses a combination of tools, including environmental management and physical, biological and chemical controls to reduce the use of pesticides and to monitor pest populations and development of pesticide resistance (Bajda & Grigoraki, 2020).…”

Rapid and Robust Analysis of Coumatetralyl in Environmental Water and Human Urine Using a Portable Raman Spectrometer

“…17 Although these methods are precise, they usually require complex and time-consuming preprocessing steps as well as skilled expertise, which greatly limit their field applications. 18,19 Currently, a rapid and userfriendly detection strategy for on-site detection and point-ofcare monitoring of CMTT is desperately needed. Surfaceenhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has multiple advantages over traditional analysis platforms, such as ultra-sensitive fingerprint acquisition, simple operation, fast readout speed, and low water interference.…”