Estimating and reducing the amount of Plains-wanderer (<i>Pedionomus torquatus</i> Gould) habitat sprayed with pesticides for locust control in the New South Wales Riverina

Story, Paul; Oliver, Damon L.; Deveson, Ted; McCulloch, L.; Hamilton, Graeme; Baker-Gabb, D. J.

doi:10.1071/mu07055

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Many bird species are known to feed on Acrididae, the family of locusts and grasshoppers to which most economically damaging species belong. As such, locust outbreaks provide an important ephemeral food source for birds and are often accompanied by wide and diverse avian assemblages [2,3]. Locusts provide a rich source of protein (62% dry mass) and lipid (17% dry mass) for predators [4,5] and, in regions of inland Australia characterized by low rainfall and variable resource availability, provide valuable nutrients for the many bird species that descend on areas experiencing locust population increases [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insecticide residues in Australian plague locusts (Chortoicetes terminifera walker) after ultra‐low volume aerial application of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion

Story

Mineau

Mullié³

2013

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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The need for locust control throughout eastern Australia during spring 2010 provided an opportunity to quantify residues of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion on nymphs of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera Walker. Residues were collected across the different physiological states--live, dead, and debilitated (characterized by ease of capture, erratic hopping, and the inability to remain upright)--of locust nymphs observed following exposure to fenitrothion. The time course of residue depletion for 72 h after spraying was quantified, and residue-per-unit dose values in the present study were compared with previous research. Fenitrothion residue-per-unit dose values ranged from 0.2 µg/g to 31.2 µg/g (mean ± standard error [SE] = 6.3 ± 1.3 µg/g) in live C. terminifera nymps, from 0.5 µg/g to 25.5 µg/g (7.8 ± 1.3 µg/g) in debilitated nymphs, and from 2.3 µg/g to 39.8 µg/g (16.5 ± 2.8 µg/g) in dead nymphs. Residues of the oxidative derivative of fenitrothion, fenitrooxon, were generally below the limit of quantitation for the analysis (0.02 µg/g), with 2 exceptions--1 live and 1 debilitated sample returned residues at the limit of quantitation. The results of the present study suggest that sampling of acridids for risk assessment should include mimicking predatory behavior and be over a longer time course (preferably 3-24 h postspray) than sampling of vegetation (typically 1-2 h postspray) and that current regulatory frameworks may underestimate the risk of pesticides applied for locust or grasshopper control.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insecticide residues in Australian plague locusts (Chortoicetes terminifera walker) after ultra‐low volume aerial application of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion

Story

Mineau

Mullié³

2013

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Rare species with a restricted range could be present with high probabilities at locust control events that occur in their preferred habitat. In fact, we know from previous studies on the Plains-wanderer (Story et al 2007) that this particular species has a high risk of exposure; thus we assume that the probabilities predicted by the models for similar rare species are underpredictions due to a lack of sufficient data. For the Plains-wanderer and other similar species, more data are required for reliable predictions.…”

Section: Model Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…acridum FI-985, an entomopathogenic fungus, is used in environmentally sensitive areas (Story et al 2005). Nonetheless, exposure of nontarget animals remains a problem (Fildes et al 2006, Story et al 2007). More than one-third of Australia's threatened bird species occur in the arid and semiarid zones (Reid and Fleming 1992), where locust outbreaks also occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting avian distributions to evaluate spatiotemporal overlap with locust control operations in eastern Australia

Szabo

Davy

Hooper

et al. 2009

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Locusts and grasshoppers cause considerable economic damage to agriculture worldwide. The Australian Plague Locust Commission uses multiple pesticides to control locusts in eastern Australia. Avian exposure to agricultural pesticides is of conservation concern, especially in the case of rare and threatened species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the probability of pesticide exposure of native avian species during operational locust control based on knowledge of species occurrence in areas and times of application. Using presence-absence data provided by the Birds Australia Atlas for 1998 to 2002, we developed a series of generalized linear models to predict avian occurrences on a monthly basis in 0.58 grid cells for 280 species over 2 million km 2 in eastern Australia. We constructed species-specific models relating occupancy patterns to survey date and location, rainfall, and derived habitat preference. Model complexity depended on the number of observations available. Model output was the probability of occurrence for each species at times and locations of past locust control operations within the 5-year study period. Given the high spatiotemporal variability of locust control events, the variability in predicted bird species presence was high, with 108 of the total 280 species being included at least once in the top 20 predicted species for individual space-time events. The models were evaluated using field surveys collected between 2000 and 2005, at sites with and without locust outbreaks. Model strength varied among species. Some species were under-or over-predicted as times and locations of interest typically did not correspond to those in the prediction data set and certain species were likely attracted to locusts as a food source. Field surveys demonstrated the utility of the spatially explicit species lists derived from the models but also identified the presence of a number of previously unanticipated species. These results also emphasize the need for special consideration of rare and threatened species that are poorly predicted by presence-absence models. This modeling exercise was a useful a priori approach in species risk assessments to identify species present at times and locations of locust control applications, and to discover gaps in our knowledge and need for further focused data collection.

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“…Many bird species are known to feed on Acrididae, the family of locusts and grasshoppers to which most economically damaging species belong. As such, locust outbreaks provide an important ephemeral food source for birds and are often accompanied by wide and diverse avian assemblages (Story et al 2007, Szabo et al 2003. Locusts provide a rich source of protein (62% dry mass) and lipid (17% dry mass) for predators (Bodenheimer 1951, Ekop et al 2010 and, in regions of inland Australia characterized by low rainfall and variable resource availability, provide valuable nutrients for the many bird species that descend on areas experiencing locust population increases (Szabo et al 2009).…”

Section: Abstract Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Don't kill your allies : The impact of chemical and biological locust and grasshopper control on birds

Mullié

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Changing views on avian predation after widespread introduction of chemical locust control Elliott (1962) mentioned more than one hundred bird species of 34 families as locust predators in Eastern Africa. Husain & Bhalla (1931) did the same for the Indian subcontinent and came up with 35 species, while more than 200 bird species were found to prey on grasshoppers in the USA (Metcalf 1980). An updated survey of published accounts and other relevant sources conducted by Table 21) revealed that at least 537 bird species of 61 families are currently known to prey upon locusts and grasshoppers in Africa. Several bird families in Africa, such as the Coraciidae and Laniidae, appear to be specialised acridivores. A wide range of acridid species is recorded as food for Ciconiidae, Glareolidae and Corvidae. Individual bird species which can be associated with a diverse acridid diet are e.g. Black Kites Milvus migrans and Pied Crows Corvus alba, but also White Storks and Abdim's Storks Ciconia abdimii, Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni and Montagu's Harriers Circus pygargus. Based on extensive field work in Niger, Petersen et al. (2008) and Falk et al. (2006) found that pre-migratory movements of Abdim's Storks are in synchrony with the seasonal movements of Senegalese Grasshoppers.Most published accounts on predation of acridids in Africa since the Second World War are of birds present during major outbreaks of locusts. It is therefore not surprising that several authors concluded that the efficacy of (avian) predators in dealing with swarms during upsurges or plagues was rather limited (Dean 1964, Stower & Greathead 1969. The magnitude of such locust swarms (adults) or of hopper bands (nymphal stages), however, was of an extremely massive nature, as visually described by Meinertzhagen (1959): "The hoppers were at Middelburg (Cape) and so numerous that trains were held up owing to squashed bodies greasing the lines so that engine wheels would not bite the rails…".Given the unpredictable nature of locust outbreaks, grasshoppers, in particular the species surviving the dry season as diapausing adults, are a much more reliable food source for (migratory) birds wintering in the Sahel than migratory locusts. However, it was not until recently that this concept found its advocates (Mullié et al. 1995, Jensen et al. 2006. The importance of Ornithacris cavroisi as a major prey species during the dry season in the Sahel has meanwhile been described for Swallow-tailed Kites Chelictinia riocourii

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Estimating and reducing the amount of Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus Gould) habitat sprayed with pesticides for locust control in the New South Wales Riverina

Cited by 8 publications

References 12 publications

Insecticide residues in Australian plague locusts (Chortoicetes terminifera walker) after ultra‐low volume aerial application of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion

Insecticide residues in Australian plague locusts (Chortoicetes terminifera walker) after ultra‐low volume aerial application of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion

Predicting avian distributions to evaluate spatiotemporal overlap with locust control operations in eastern Australia

Don't kill your allies : The impact of chemical and biological locust and grasshopper control on birds

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