Could blackbird mortality from avicide DRC-1339 contribute to avian botulism outbreaks in North Dakota?

Blackbird (family lcteridae) depredation on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) crops in the prairie states of the United States has motivated the proposed use of an avicide, DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline), to decrease their numbers. The resulting mortality of blackbirds at wetland roosts could incre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Wildlife Society bulletin Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 870 - 880
Main Authors:	Goldberg, Diana R., Samuel, Michael D., Rocke, Tonie E., Johnson, Kevin M., Linz, George
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK The Wildlife Society 01-09-2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Subjects:	3-chloro-4-methylaniline avian botulism avicides biodegradation bird control Birds blackbird carcasses Botulinum toxins Botulism Clostridium botulinum Clostridium botulinum C dead animals DRC-1339 Ecosystems Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay Helianthus Helianthus annuus Icteridae Insect larvae insects larvae lcteridae Nongame Management and Research North Dakota Spores Toxins vertebrate pests Waterfowl wetland ecosystems Wetlands wildlife diseases Wildlife ecology Wildlife management North Dakota USA, North Dakota
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Summary:	Blackbird (family lcteridae) depredation on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) crops in the prairie states of the United States has motivated the proposed use of an avicide, DRC-1339 (3-chloro-4-methylaniline), to decrease their numbers. The resulting mortality of blackbirds at wetland roosts could increase the potential of avian botulism occurring in affected marshes. To assess this possibility, we seeded (artificially placed) blackbird carcasses in selected wetlands in Stutsman County, North Dakota, during August-September 2000 and July-September 2001 to evaluate their rate of decomposition and role in initiating avian botulism outbreaks. We monitored carcasses to determine their persistence, the frequency and amount of maggots produced, and the presence of type C botulinum toxin. In 10 of our 12 study wetlands, blackbird carcasses were not rapidly removed by scavengers, thus providing substrate for maggot growth and potential production of Clostridium botulinum toxin. Decomposition of carcasses occurred rapidly, and maggot production averaged 4–5 g per carcass within 9 days. We were unable to detect C. botulinum type C toxin in any of the 377 blackbird carcasses or the 112 samples of maggots we collected in 2000 or 2001. None of the 25 blackbird carcasses we tested contained botulinum spores, the most probable explanation for the absence of botulinum toxin production. Our results indicate that the likelihood of DRC-1339-poisoned blackbirds causing botulism outbreaks would be minimal in North Dakota wetlands during late summer and early autumn.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/0091-7648(2004)032[0870:CBMFAD]2.0.CO;2 http://hdl.handle.net/10113/41390 Diana R. (Dede) Goldberg George Linz is an environmental contaminant specialist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's North Dakota Field Station in Bismarck. He received his B.S. and M.S. from Montana State University. is a microbiologist at the United States Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin. She received her M.S. in veterinary science at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison. Diana's primary research interests are in the ecology of wildlife diseases, including avian botulism and avian cholera. Michael D. Samuel Tonie E. Rocke United States Geological Survey, Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Wildlife Ecology, 204 Russell Laboratory, 1630 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 is an epizootiologist at the United States Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin. Tonie has an M.S. and a Ph.D. in veterinary science from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison. Her research is focused on the ecology and management of disease in wildlife, including avian botulism, sylvatic plague, and avian vacuolar myelinopathy. Kevin M. Johnson is the Assistant Unit Leader in the Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit at University of Wisconsin‐Madison. Mike has an M.S. in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and an M.S. in applied statistics and a Ph.D. in wildlife from the University of Idaho. His research is focused on wildlife disease ecology including chronic wasting disease, waterfowl diseases, and avian malaria in Hawaiian forest birds. is the Leader for Wildlife Services at the National Wildlife Research Center's Great Plains Field Station in Bismarck, North Dakota. He received his Ph.D. in zoology from North Dakota State University. His research interests include ecology of birds, especially blackbirds, in relation to ripening sunflower and developing methods of reducing blackbird damage to sunflower. ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0091-7648 1938-5463
DOI:	10.2193/0091-7648(2004)032[0870:CBMFAD]2.0.CO;2