Behavioral responses of Imidacloprid-Dosed farmland birds to a simulated predation risk
Sublethal exposure to imidacloprid and other neonicotinoid insecticides may affect the neurological functions of birds. As such, behavior may be compromised. Here, we tested experimentally the effects of 1 and 6 mg/kg bw of imidacloprid on the antipredator behavioral responses of the red-legged...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
ACS Publications
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/18661 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c01893 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c01893 |
| Summary: | Sublethal exposure to imidacloprid and other neonicotinoid
insecticides may affect the neurological functions of birds. As such, behavior
may be compromised. Here, we tested experimentally the effects of 1 and 6 mg/kg
bw of imidacloprid on the antipredator behavioral responses of the red-legged
partridge (Alectoris rufa) to simulated predator threats. Sixty-six partridges were
challenged in groups or individually to intra- and interspecific alarm calls, to a
raptor silhouette (aerial predation risk), and to a fox model (terrestrial predation
risk). Antipredator behaviors were recorded as active (escape, active vigilance) and
passive (passive vigilance, crouching, and freezing) responses. Latency in response
to the stimuli, percentage of individuals who responded, response duration, speed
of active responses, and vocalizations were measured. In experiments with
partridges in the group, crouching against simulated predation risk lasted less time
in birds treated with 6 mg a.i./kg bw than in control birds. In the experiments with
individual partridges, passive vigilance against the intraspecific alarm lasted longer in birds treated with 6 mg a.i./kg bw than in
control birds. The observed hyperreactivity to the predatory threat after a sublethal imidacloprid exposure can have consequences on
survival under field conditions, where predation is a main driver of population dynamics. |
|---|