First evidence of age-dependent decreases in non-persistent pesticide mixtures in nestlings of a farmland raptor

Abstract

Intensive use of synthetic pesticides in conventional agriculture may harm non-target organisms through sublethal effects on life-history traits. Farmland birds are exposed throughout their life cycle, but the fate of non-persistent pesticide mixtures in wild birds remains unknown. In this study, we investigated changes in pesticide contamination levels in Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus) nestlings during their growth. In total, 35 chicks were sampled twice during the rearing period, and blood was tested for 116 pesticides to assess pesticide load through two proxies; the number of pesticides detected and the sum of pesticide concentrations. Body mass and tarsus length were also measured to estimate body condition. Across the two sampling times, nine herbicides, five insecticides and four fungicides were detected. Contamination levels decreased significantly with nestling age irrespective of sampling date, and there was no relationship between pesticide load and body condition. Moreover, concentrations of chlorpyrifos-methyl, fenpropidin, metamitron, picloram and S-metolachlor, all detected throughout the rearing period, were unrelated to any of the explanatory variables. However, ethofumesate concentrations decreased significantly with chick age. This study provides the first evidence that non-persistent pesticide mixtures can decrease with age in wild nestlings. This has implications for understanding how chicks are contaminated and provides new insights on pesticide fate within organisms.