Proposed Indoor Test Procedure to Quantify Pesticide Treatment Effects on Seed Consumption by Birds

Proposed Indoor Test Procedure to Quantify Pesticide Treatment Effects on Seed Consumption by Birds

Pesticides used in seed coatings can influence seed consumption by birds and, therefore, actual exposure risk for them. A quantification of such effects on consumption is currently not regarded as a refinement factor in environmental risk assessments, although it is a possible option and should be c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental toxicology and chemistry Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 359 - 370
Main Authors: Esther, Alexandra, Blanckenhagen, Felix, Heiden, Angela an, Dürger, Joanna, Kozyczkowska‐Kneffel, Dominika, Ludwigs, Jan‐Dieter, Sadowski, Jan, Shadid, Maisam, Gabriel, Doreen
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-02-2020
Subjects:
Animal care
Animal welfare
Avoidance
Avoidance behavior
Birds
Brassica
Consumption
Consumption comparison
Consumption factor
Consumption patterns
Environmental assessment
Environmental risk
Fungicides
Granivor
Hunger
Organic chemistry
Pesticides
Plant protection products
Rapeseed
Risk assessment
Seed coats
Seed treatments
Seeds
Species
Test procedures
Toxicology
Plant protection products
Avoidance
Granivor
Consumption comparison
Consumption factor
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Summary:Pesticides used in seed coatings can influence seed consumption by birds and, therefore, actual exposure risk for them. A quantification of such effects on consumption is currently not regarded as a refinement factor in environmental risk assessments, although it is a possible option and should be considered, for example, for comparing exposure risk of different pesticides. It can highlight avoidance behavior, preventing birds from taking up lethal or sublethal pesticide doses. To formulate a standard, we developed an indoor test procedure based on established pen test methods, including 2‐ and no‐choice phases with hunger periods. During testing, the highest standards of animal welfare were applied. Statistical approaches were used to determine the most appropriate number of replicates and for analysis. The effect on consumption of seeds is expressed as the ratio of consumed treated to untreated seeds. This consumption factor can be applied in avian risk assessments for seed treatments equivalent to an avoidance factor. We present, as an example, an application of the procedure to obtain a seed‐ and species‐specific consumption factor for oilseed rape seeds (Brassica napus) provided untreated and treated with fungicides to greenfinches (Carduelis chloris) and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Overall, bird constitution was not negatively affected by the test procedure in either species. The test procedure was suitable for showing differences in expected consumption patterns, such as greater avoidance of treated seeds in 2‐choice than in no‐choice tests. However, the consumption differed between species and fungicide treatments, allowing us to rank avoidance effects of different fungicides. Using the presented standard procedure to generate comparable pesticide‐ and species‐specific consumption factors for more species and seed treatments may result in refinement of default values and reduce animal trials in different designs in the future. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:359–370. © 2019 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.
ISSN:0730-7268
1552-8618
DOI:10.1002/etc.4620