Premium
Response of bobwhite quail and gray‐tailed voles to granular and flowable diazinon applications
Author(s) -
Wang Guiming,
Edge W. Daniel,
Wolff Jerry O.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620200223
Subject(s) - diazinon , colinus , bobwhite quail , quail , microtus , zoology , biology , population , toxicology , pesticide , ecology , medicine , environmental health
We used gray‐tailed voles ( Microtus canicaudus ) and northern bobwhite quail ( Colinus virginianus ) as experimental model species to field test whether small mammals and birds respond differently to equivalent concentrations of a pesticide applied in granular and flowable formulations. In mid‐May 1998, we placed voles into 15, 0.2‐ha enclosures planted with a mixture of pasture grasses. In mid‐July, we placed quail into the same enclosures with the voles. In late July, we applied the organophosphorus insecticide diazinon in five treatments; a control (all habitats sprayed with water), liquid formulation of diazinon at 0.55 kg/ha, liquid formulation of diazinon at 1.11 kg/ha, broadcast of granular diazinon at 1.11 kg/ha, and broadcast of granular diazinon at 2.22 kg/ha. The diazinon treatment in liquid and granular formulations did not depress population size or growth rate, or survival rate of voles. We found a significant difference in the survival rate of the quail between the controls and treatments; granular diazinon caused a measurable decline of quail survival, whereas the liquid application at an equivalent rate did not significantly affect quail survival. Analysis of our results suggests that ground‐feeding birds are more susceptible to granular insecticides than flowable applications, but voles were not susceptible to either formulation at the rate we used.