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Controlling Wireworms Without Killing Wildlife in the Fraser River Delta

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Book cover Wildlife Ecotoxicology

Part of the book series: Emerging Topics in Ecotoxicology ((ETEP,volume 3))

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Abstract

We studied the poisoning of birds of prey and waterfowl by anti-cholinesterase insecticides from 1989 to the present in the lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. It began as an investigation of causes of death of the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) with a focus on the role of lead shot. During the first year, however, a number of eagles and other birds of prey were discovered dead and debilitated from unknown causes. A forensic investigation revealed acute poisoning mainly by the carbamate compound, carbofuran. We subsequently showed that these non-persistent non-bioaccumulative pesticides did indeed persist in local soils from spring application well into the following winter. They could then be ingested by waterfowl as they intensely foraged across the delta farmlands. Seasonal and long-term trends in eagle populations and their winter foraging behaviour contributed to the high rates of poisoning. Carbofuran had been introduced as a replacement for the organochlorine insecticides such as aldrin and heptachlor primarily to control the introduced soil pests known as wireworm, larvae of the Agriotes click beetles. From 1990 to 1999, three organophosphorus (OP) insecticide wireworm control alternatives, fensulfothion, phorate and fonofos, were shown to persist and poison raptors and were each removed in turn from the market. In the early 2000s under the guidance of multi-stakeholder committee, the British Columbia Wireworm Committee, a fourth OP compound, chlorpyrifos, was introduced and has been used for 10 years under an integrated pest management framework to effectively control wireworm, and while it likely has killed some waterfowl, has not been linked to poisoning of birds of prey. Thus, with focused effort and cooperation among agricultural, wildlife and regulatory communities, effective pest control can be achieved without unacceptable poisoning of non-target wildlife.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Click beetles get their name from their ability to right themselves when on their backs by ­flexing and snapping a spine on the prosternum, which sommersaults the beetle into the air with a loud “click.” These beetles have been known to keep entomologists (and their children and guests) amused for hours.

  2. 2.

    Extirpated birds:

    Sandhill Crane Grus candensis

    Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americana

    Barn Owl Tyto alba

    Western Screech-Owl Megascops kennicottii

    Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia

    Purple Martin Progne subis

    Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris

    Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana

    Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

  3. 3.

    Lead poisoning of eagles: That work produced data which showed that a substantial portion of bald eagles found dead or debilitated in British Colombia had died of lead poisoning (x%) or had been significantly exposed to lead. The data were valuable for initiating the first provincial ban on lead shot use for waterfowl in Canada, and contributed to the eventual national ban (See Chapter, also Elliott et al 1992; Wayland et al 2003.

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Acknowledgements

Sandi Lee is thanked for her tireless efforts to visit sites, collect carcasses, bleed and otherwise sample debilitated birds, and handle samples. She is also thanked for her help with drafting the figures for this chapter. Many others have been involved over the years in data collection and investigations. Principle among them: Pam Sinclair, Phil Whitehead, Ken Langelier, Malcolm McAdie, Vicky Bowes, Craig Stevens, Harpreet Gill, Patti Dods, Christy Morrissey, Anna Birmingham. The following wildlife rehabilitators are also thanked: OWL, especially Bev Day, Lynn Short and Monika Tolksdorf. Karen Morrison and Sylvia Von Schuckman of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment were very supportive of this work. Jack Bates of the Delta Farmers Institute provided valuable information. Finally, we thank the many members of the public who willingly brought in or reported sick and dead raptors and waterfowl.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment Canada, Science and Technology Branch, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Delta, BC, V4K 3N2, Canada

    John E. Elliott

  2. Canadian Wildlife Service, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Environment Canada, Delta, BC, V4K 3N2, Canada

    Laurie K. Wilson

  3. Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada, Agassiz, BC, V0M 1A0, Canada

    Robert Vernon

Authors
  1. John E. Elliott
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  2. Laurie K. Wilson
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  3. Robert Vernon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John E. Elliott .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, V4K 3N2, British Columbia, Canada

    John E. Elliott

  2. Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada, 5421 Robertson Road, Delta, V4K 3N2, British Columbia, Canada

    Christine A. Bishop

  3. Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, 112 Science Place, Saskatoon, S7N 5E2, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Christy A. Morrissey

Appendix

Appendix

Number of wildlife observed in agricultural fields that were treated or untreated with fonofos prior to surveying for carcass remains, by taxonomic group during Dec 1996–Jan 1997 and Oct–Dec 1997.

Taxonomic group

Treated

Perimeter treated

Untreated

Total

aHectares

182.5

33.6

208

424.1

bNo.of surveys

13

13

13

39

Waterfowl

29,268

1,901

21,245

52,414 (86%)

Shorebirds

531

860

3,403

4,794 (8%)

Seabirds

496

661

1,527

2,684 (4%)

Raptors

196

33

328

557 (1%)

cOther birds

74

6

131

211 (<1%)

Mammals

4

4

7

15 (<1%)

Total

30,569 (50%)

3,465 (6%)

26,641 (44%)

60,675

a1996–1997: 114.9 ha treated, 111.3 ha untreated; 1997–1998: 67.6 ha treated, 33.6 ha perimeter treated, 96.7 ha untreated

b1996–1997: 5–7 surveys depending on the field; 1997–1998: 6–7 surveys depending on the field

cOther birds include songbirds, game fowl and water birds

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Elliott, J.E., Wilson, L.K., Vernon, R. (2011). Controlling Wireworms Without Killing Wildlife in the Fraser River Delta. In: Elliott, J., Bishop, C., Morrissey, C. (eds) Wildlife Ecotoxicology. Emerging Topics in Ecotoxicology, vol 3. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89432-4_7

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