Neonicotinoid insecticides are among the latest class of insecticides that can have harmful effects on birds. Approximately 30 000 kg of neonicotinoid insecticides are applied annually to 429 100 ha of row-crop fields within the South Texas Plains Ecoregion, Texas, USA. Various studies have demonstrated that treated seeds can be highly toxic to northern bobwhites, with the consumption of only 20 corn seeds causing a fatality. Similarly, other studies have indicated that neonicotinoid insecticides can reduce arthropod populations—a substantial prey base for northern bobwhites, especially during the breeding season—by approximately 60%. Our objective was to conduct an ecological risk assessment of neonicotinoid insecticides' impact on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations in the South Texas Plains Ecoregion. We estimated that juvenile and adult northern bobwhites could intake from 7.32 to 27.0 mg/kg/day and from 10.0 to 37.5 mg/kg/day of neonicotinoid insecticides, respectively, which can cause adverse effects on growth, reproductive output, and long-term survival. Our study determined that the application of 30 000 kg of neonicotinoid insecticides annually in the South Texas Plains Ecoregion harms the region's northern bobwhite that are exposed to neonicotinoids. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:488-499. © 2021 SETAC

中文翻译：

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新烟碱类杀虫剂对南德克萨斯平原生态区北部山貂（Colinus virginianus）影响的生态风险评估

新烟碱类杀虫剂是最新一类可能对鸟类产生有害影响的杀虫剂。美国德克萨斯州南德克萨斯平原生态区的 429 100 公顷农田每年使用大约 30 000 公斤的新烟碱类杀虫剂。各种研究表明，经过处理的种子对北方山鹬具有剧毒，仅食用 20 粒玉米种子就会导致死亡。同样，其他研究表明，新烟碱类杀虫剂可以减少约 60% 的节肢动物种群——北方大白鲨的重要猎物基地，尤其是在繁殖季节。我们的目标是对新烟碱类杀虫剂对北方山鹬（Colinus virginianus ）的影响进行生态风险评估。) 南德克萨斯平原生态区的人口。我们估计，幼年和成年北方短尾鹬的新烟碱类杀虫剂摄入量分别为 7.32 至 27.0 毫克/公斤/天和 10.0 至 37.5 毫克/公斤/天，这会对生长、生殖产量和长期生存。我们的研究确定，每年在德克萨斯州南部平原生态区使用 30 000 公斤新烟碱类杀虫剂会损害该地区暴露于新烟碱类的北部山鹬。集成环境评估管理2022；18:488-499。© 2021 SETAC