The Population Decline of Gyps Vultures in India and Nepal Has Slowed since Veterinary Use of Diclofenac was Banned

Prakash, Vibhu; Bishwakarma, Mohan Chandra; Chaudhary, Anand; Cuthbert, Richard; Dave, Ruchi; Kulkarni, Mandar; Kumar, Satish; Paudel, Khadananda; Ranade, Sachin; Shringarpure, Rohan; Green, Rhys E.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049118

Cited by 148 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Exposure to residues of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac in tissues of cattle in Asia resulted in massive declines (more than 95%) in the populations of some species of vultures in Asia [3]. As a result, diclofenac was withdrawn from veterinary use in India [4,5]. The 'Asian vulture crisis', provides an example of an unexpected acute exposure route that highlighted the potential ecological impact of these biologically active compounds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential ecological footprints of active pharmaceutical ingredients: an examination of risk factors in low-, middle- and high-income countries

Kookana

Williams

Boxall

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

140

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Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can enter the natural environment during manufacture, use and/or disposal, and consequently public concern about their potential adverse impacts in the environment is growing. Despite the bulk of the human population living in Asia and Africa (mostly in low- or middle-income countries), limited work relating to research, development and regulations on APIs in the environment have so far been conducted in these regions. Also, the API manufacturing sector is gradually shifting to countries with lower production costs. This paper focuses mainly on APIs for human consumption and highlights key differences between the low-, middle- and high-income countries, covering factors such as population and demographics, manufacture, prescriptions, treatment, disposal and reuse of waste and wastewater. The striking differences in populations (both human and animal), urbanization, sewer connectivity and other factors have revealed that the environmental compartments receiving the bulk of API residues differ markedly between low- and high-income countries. High sewer connectivity in developed countries allows capture and treatment of the waste stream (point-source). However, in many low- or middle-income countries, sewerage connectivity is generally low and in some areas waste is collected predominantly in septic systems. Consequently, the diffuse-source impact, such as on groundwater from leaking septic systems or on land due to disposal of raw sewage or septage, may be of greater concern. A screening level assessment of potential burdens of APIs in urban and rural environments of countries representing low- and middle-income as well as high-income has been made. Implications for ecological risks of APIs used by humans in lower income countries are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential ecological footprints of active pharmaceutical ingredients: an examination of risk factors in low-, middle- and high-income countries

Kookana

Williams

Boxall

et al. 2014

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

140

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“…Most Old World vulture species (e.g., Gyps and Gypaetus) are currently listed as 'Threatened', some as 'Critically Endangered' by the IUCN. The recent, almost complete collapse of several globally significant Asian Gyps populations has now been convincingly linked to residue exposure, through livestock carcasses, to the NSAID diclofenac [86][87][88]. In contrast, in Africa, any current veterinary or human NSAID usage and any potential repercussions of this for vulture populations is likely masked, by deliberate and secondary poisoning via pesticides and others [89,90].…”

Section: Case Study 2: Chronic and Acute Exposure Of Old World Vulturmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 2011 survey regarding the effectiveness of the ban across India highlighted that the drug could still be obtained -for human use -from many pharmacies and was being illegally used on animals [94,95]. Be that as it may, veterinary use of diclofenac appears to have halved since 2006, and surveys conducted across India and Nepal indicate that vulture populations seem to be stabilizing [88,94,95]. Further measures to remove human formulations of diclofenac from the market, or restrict their availability, are ongoing and clearly essential going forward.…”

Section: The Situation On the Asian Subcontinentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Merging Wildlife and Environmental Monitoring Approaches with Forensic Principles: Application of Unconventional and Non-Invasive Sampling in Eco- Pharmacovigilance

Richards¹

2014

J Forensic Res

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Pharmaceutical residues in the environment have the potential to harm wildlife. A population's fragility or an animal's secretive nature may preclude capture and the use of invasive/destructive sampling techniques that are typically used in a risk assessment. Conventionally favoured matrices gathered opportunistically from carcasses have a finite lifespan, thereby limiting the detection window. This multidisciplinary paper aims to promote the use of non-invasive approaches and optimize use of even the most degraded carcasses. We highlight a selection of promising alternative, unconventional and underutilized sample types that could be applied in environmental monitoring efforts and wildlife forensic investigations. With a focus on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), now under increasing scrutiny in the freshwater and terrestrial environment, we first illustrate current sampling practices and gaps in knowledge by summarizing exposure of: 1) aquatic organisms to urban effluent discharged into waterways, and, 2) scavenging species to veterinary residues in livestock and other carrion. We then consider the merits and limitations of a range of alternative environmentally robust sample options that offer a broader detection interval for NSAIDs, with emphasis on hair, wool and feathers. The viability of eyes/ocular material, bone matter, fecal matter, injection sites, ingesta/pellets and scavenging/coprophagous insects are also discussed.

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“…After precipitous declines throughout the Indian subcontinent, the estimated global population of white-rumped vultures falls within the band of 3500 to 15 000 birds (BirdLife International 2012). The population decline has slowed due to the con-certed efforts of stakeholders involved in vulture conservation, but there has been no strong evidence of increasing or even stable vulture populations on the Indian subcontinent (Pain et al 2008, Cuthbert et al 2011, Prakash et al 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two widely used methods for estimating the abundance of white-rumped vultures in southern Asia are counts of active nests and road transect surveys (Gilbert et al 2002, Prakash et al 2003, 2012, Chaudhary et al 2012. By counting the number of active nests, the first approach underestimates abundance because it ignores the subadults and juveniles present in a population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population viability analysis of Critically Endangered white-rumped vultures Gyps bengalensis

Baral¹,

Nagy²,

Crain³

et al. 2013

Endang. Species. Res.

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More than a decade has passed since the catastrophic population decline in Gyps species was reported from South Asia, but much uncertainty remains about quantifying their short-term extinction risk. To estimate the future extinction risk of the white-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis in Nepal, we conducted counts at 7 nesting colonies between 2002 and 2012. We compared 3 methods of estimating abundance based on count data and calculated mean population growth rates and cumulative probabilities of extinction given the abundance estimates from each method. The first 2 methods of abundance estimation were traditional indices: mean and maximum values of all counts. The third method was a mixture modeling approach that corrected raw counts by a detection parameter. The results of the traditional indices were characterized by high uncertainty levels as reflected in the wide confidence intervals, which limited their capacity to make predictions about the fate of the populations with any confidence. The mixture modeling method provided more reliable results; there was a 51% probability of populations facing quasiextinction (i.e. ≤20 vultures) in 13 yr and a 99% probability of quasi-extinction in 18 yr. Because the mixture modeling method provided more precise predictions while requiring minimal additional effort, population biologists using count data are encouraged to employ such model-based estimators. The white-rumped vulture populations in Rampur are in danger of disappearing within 2 decades, so conservation efforts should be expedited to prevent the loss of this species.

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The Population Decline of Gyps Vultures in India and Nepal Has Slowed since Veterinary Use of Diclofenac was Banned

Cited by 148 publications

References 18 publications

Potential ecological footprints of active pharmaceutical ingredients: an examination of risk factors in low-, middle- and high-income countries

Potential ecological footprints of active pharmaceutical ingredients: an examination of risk factors in low-, middle- and high-income countries

Merging Wildlife and Environmental Monitoring Approaches with Forensic Principles: Application of Unconventional and Non-Invasive Sampling in Eco- Pharmacovigilance

Population viability analysis of Critically Endangered white-rumped vultures Gyps bengalensis

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