Survival and cover-seeking response of northern bobwhites and mourning doves dosed with aldicarb

Abstract

Survival and cover-seeking responses of wild northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) and mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) dosed with aldicarb were investigated. Acute toxicity range-finding tests were conducted to establish optimum dose levels for subsequent dose–release activities. Estimated median lethal dose values derived for doves and bobwhites were 0.82 and 1.48 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Wild mourning doves and northern bobwhites were orally administered aldicarb or a vehicle blank and monitored for 7 d posttreatment to determine survival and cover-seeking response. Doves receiving the highest aldicarb concentration (1.07 mg/kg bodyweight) had a significantly lower survival rate than did controls. However, when mortalities attributable to acute toxicity were removed from the analysis, there were no differences in daily survival rates among treatment groups. All bobwhite treatment groups had lower survival rates than controls. When acute mortalities were removed from the survival analysis, the 1.36-mg/kg bodyweight treatment group still had a significantly lower survival rate than controls. Postdose observations of behavior indicate that mourning doves and northern bobwhites receiving a lethal dose of aldicarb are limited in their cover-seeking ability due to the rapid onset of physical impairment associated with this compound.