A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds
Date
9/13/2019
Authors
Eng, Margaret
Stutchbury, Bridget
Morrissey, Christy
Journal Title
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Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science
ORCID
Type
Preprint
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Abstract
Neonicotinoids are neurotoxic insecticides widely used as seed treatments, but little is known of their effects on migrating birds that forage in agricultural areas. We tracked the migratory movements of imidacloprid-exposed songbirds at a landscape scale using a combination of experimental dosing and automated radio telemetry. Ingestion of field-realistic quantities of imidacloprid (1.2 or 3.9 milligrams per kilogram body mass) by white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) during migratory stopover caused a rapid reduction in food consumption, mass, and fat and significantly affected their probability of departure. Birds in the high-dose treatment stayed a median of 3.5 days longer at the site of capture after exposure as compared with controls, likely to regain fuel stores or recover from intoxication. Migration delays can carry over to affect survival and reproduction; thus, these results confirm a link between sublethal pesticide exposure and adverse outcomes for migratory bird populations.
Description
Keywords
pesticides, avian migration, automated telemetry, ecotoxicology
Citation
Eng, M. L.; Stutchbury, B. J. M.; Morrissey, C. A. (2019). A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds. Science, 365(6458), 1177-1180. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw9419
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Citation
Eng, M. L.; Stutchbury, B. J. M.; Morrissey, C. A. (2019). A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds. Science, 365(6458), 1177-1180. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw9419
Part Of
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DOI
10.1126/science.aaw9419
item.page.identifier.pmid
31515394