Exploitation of Britain as a wintering area is believed to have been a gradual process, but how well is this reflected by ringing recoveries?

Brain from 47 avian and 17 mammalian species and the liver from 19 avian and 7 mammalian species has been examined for acetyl cholinesterase and nitrophenyl acetate esterase activities. Plasma from 27 avian and 7 mammalian species has been examined for acetyl cholinesterase, cholinesterase, nitrophenyl acetate esterase, glutamate, oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase, glutamate dehydrogenase, sorbitol dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase activities. The studies have revealed that variations in enzyme activities occur between species but that there are discernible trends within families. The results indicate that comprehensive control enzyme data is necessary in order to assess the effects of exposure to agricultural chemicals in wildlife.

Organic pesticides have been used for more than 50 years, and have made a major contribution to the profound alteration of agricultural practice which has occurred during this period. Among the many effects arising from these developments in agriculture, various environmental changes have been identified, which have been the subject of considerable public debate and disagreement. Attention has focussed particularly on the popularly assumed adverse influence of pesticides on the natural flora and fauna. This review examines the position in the United Kingdom where interest in wildlife has always been extensive and where many amateur observations and professional scientific studies have been brought to bear on the problem. It differentiates between ‘direct’ effects which may be attributed to particular uses of certain compounds and ‘indirect’ effects normally arising from changes in habitat or food supply brought about by pesticides. The approach adopted has been to assess the effects of pesticide use on populations rather than attempting to place a financial estimate on any adverse environmental effect attributed to pesticides. Systems of surveillance are described and their ability to detect adverse effects is assessed. The difficulty of correlating such effects with pesticide use is examined. In general, it is concluded that other than for insects the levels of surveillance have been adequate to detect adverse effects on fauna and flora arising from pesticide use. Where direct effects have been discerned in the past, action has, where possible, been taken to rectify the position and it is suggested that this will continue. Overall there is little evidence that the survival of individual species is threatened by the direct effects of pesticides. Indirect effects are neither simple to delineate nor readily corrected and it is recommended that more research be carried out to develop the ability to assess their influence.

1. Hepatocytes have been isolated from adult Japanese quail in high yields (26-40 X 10(6) cells/g) with 95% viability. Variation in the collagenase and hyaluronidase levels and incubation time used in the isolation procedure affected the yield and viability of the hepatocytes. Quail hepatocytes were more stable in a standard nutrient medium than those of the rat. 2 1,1-Di-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-chloroethylene (DDMU), a metabolite of DDT, depleted quail hepatic GSH levels both in vitro and in vivo, but had no effect on rat hepatocytes. DDMU (0.1 mM) depleted GSH levels in the quail to the same extent as diethyl maleate (a known GSH-depleting agent) (0.04 mM) but the latter acted more rapidly. 3. Pretreatment of quail in vivo with DDMU or phenobarbitone, known inducers of the hepatic mixed-function oxidases, resulted in faster depletion of GSH when the hepatocytes were incubated subsequently with DDMU in vitro. 4. In contrast, 1,1-di-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2-dichloroethylene (DDE), another metabolite of DDT, did not deplete GSH levels in the quail but did cause some reduction in the rat. Phenobarbitone pretreatment had no effect on GSH depletion by DDE in vitro in quail hepatocytes but enhanced GSH depletion in rat hepatocytes.

The wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) has been used as an indicator species to assess, both in the field and the laboratory, the effects of carbophenothion and, in the laboratory, the effects of chlorfenvinphos as seed dressings on winter wheat. Wood mice were fed in the laboratory with wheat treated with carbophenothion and chlorfenvinphos and the effects on esterase levels were determined for periods of up to 7 days and on returning the mice to untreated wheat. The significant inhibition of plasma acetylcholinesterase and cholinesterase and brain and liver nitrophenyl acetate esterase during the 6-month period after carbophenothion-treated grain was drilled was found to reflect the carbophenothion residue in the gut contents of the mice. The degree of esterase inhibition differentiated mice trapped on the field from those caught in adjacent woodland. Inhibition of the plasma, brain, and liver esterases in wood mice fed wheat treated with the recommended rate of carbophenothion confirmed that the continued esterase inhibition obtained in the field-trapped mice during the field trial was due to chronic pesticide exposure. The pattern of esterase inhibition in the wood mice reflected the persistence of the two organophosphorus pesticides.

The opportunity presented by the introduction of a coal-based granular formulation of the carbamate nematocide, aldicarb for use on sugar beet and potatoes in the United Kingdom has been used to evaluate a number of new methods for the assessment of the environmental hazard presented by pesticides. In an intensive field trial with sugar beet, well established biological procedures for recording changes in animal populations and behaviour were combined with a planned programme involving the sampling of animals, plants and soil. Emphasis was placed on sampling and observing mammals in addition to birds which have been more extensively studied in the past. The samples were submitted to a variety of chemical and biochemical analyses designed to reveal the extent to which the pesticide was distributed temporally and spatially and the effects it produced on individuals. The results indicate that although the pesticide is not persistent, it is mobile especially in wet soil, systemic in plants and can be found widely in the local vertebrate fauna for up to 90 days after application. Specific hazards were identified as arising from the ingestion of uncovered granules and from worms containing residues coming to the surface following application in wet conditions.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTOrganophosphate poisoning. Effects of selected organophosphate pesticides on plasma enzymes and brain esterases of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)Graham E. Westlake, Peter J. Bunyan, A. David Martin, Peter I. Stanley, and Linda C. SteedCite this: J. Agric. Food Chem. 1981, 29, 4, 772–778Publication Date (Print):July 1, 1981Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 July 1981https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf00106a021https://doi.org/10.1021/jf00106a021research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views199Altmetric-Citations51LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts

A secondary poisoning hazard from use of the anticoagulant rodenticide warfarin exists for mammals (Hayes and Gaines 1950, Evans and Ward 1967, Harradine 1976). Extension of use of warfarin to control gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in woodlands in the United Kingdom has led to the prediction that deaths will occur in nontarget species (Phillipson and Wood 1976, Wood and Phillipson 1977) from both primary and secondary poisoning. The tawny owl (Strix aluco) is an important avian predator in deciduous woodlands, and could be at risk from consuming contaminated small mammals. Most available evidence suggests that birds are not highly sensitive to primary warfarin toxicity (Rudd and Genelly 1956, Papworth 1958, Bailey et al. 1973, Jones and Townsend 1978), and if the rodenticidal baits incorporating this anticoagulant are used in the recommended manner, there should be no direct toxic hazard to birds. An assessment

From an analysis of ringing recoveries, body measurements, timing of primary moult and of arrival and departure, it is suggested that the Herring Gulls wintering inland in south-east England originate from breeding colonies in Arctic Norway and Russia.

1. The acute oral LD50 and chronic LC50 toxicity values for ethylene dibromide (EDB) were estimated for japanese quail. 2. Single sub-acute oral and intraperitoneal doses of EDB (1/2 LD50) and chronic oral doses of EDB (1/3 LC50) were administered to quail in order to characterise the sub-lethal effects of EDB residues. 3. At 24 h after sub-acute dosing, relative liver weight, plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AT) [EC 2.6.1.1] and L-iditol (sorbitol) dehydrogenase (SDH) [EC 1.1.1.14] were elevated and decreases were found in hepatic total lipid, total protein, AT and glutamic dehydrogenase (NAD (P)+) (GDH) and plasma cholinesterase (ChE) [EC 3.1.1.8] and total lipid. 4. Following chronic administration, elevations in relative liver weight, plasma ChE and total lipid, haemoglobin and haematocrit were found and hepatic AT, GDH and total lipid were decreased. 5. The changes in hepatic and plasma enzymes and constituents are discussed in relation to possible biphasic effects resulting from EDB exposure.

The use of the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) as an indicator species to assess the effects of chlorfenvinphos and an organomercurial fungicide used as seed dressings on winter wheat have been investigated. Optimum assay conditions for measurement of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, glutamate pyruvate transaminase, glutamate dehydrogenase, and sorbitol dehydrogenase in rodent plasma were developed for this study. The amount of surface grain and the chlorfen vinphos and total mercury residues on the surface grain declined with time after drilling. Wood mice were captured using a grid of small mammal traps placed over the surface of a field sown with treated winter wheat and also in adjacent woodland. No trend in mouse body total mercury was discernible after sowing unlike mouse gut chlorfenvinphos which declined with time. Mice trapped in the wood contained very low levels of chlorfenvinphos and total mercury unlike those mice trapped on the field. Plasma acetylcholinesterase and cholinesterase showed significant inhibition 10 days after drilling and liver nitrophenyl acetate esterase showed significant inhibition during the first 3 days after drilling in mice trapped on the field. This inhibition of esterase activities reflected the chlorfenvinphos residue in the gut contents of the mice. The enzyme changes further differentiated mice trapped on the field from those caught in the wood.

Chemical treatments of cereal seeds are used in the United Kingdom to prevent damage by a number of pests including the wheat bulb fly, which is a serious pest of winter wheat. The persistent organochlorine dieldrin was introduced in the 1950s as a seed treatment but caused the death of large numbers of grain eating birds and gave rise to unacceptable environmental contamination. The withdrawal of dieldrin as a seed treatment was made possible by the introduction of two less persistent organophosphate insecticides, chlorfenvinphos and carbophenothion. Although the introduction of these chemicals has been beneficial in reducing environmental contamination, some side-effects on wildlife have still been discernible and carbophenothion has now been withdrawn from use in Scotland owing to the deaths of wintering geese from carbophenothion poisoning. Subsequent laboratory studies have demonstrated that Anser geese are particularly susceptible to carbophenothion poisoning, and the underlying biochemical mechanism has been investigated. The fundamental problem of species variation in toxicity among the organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides which this investigation illustrates presents difficulties for registration authorities when they are considered for clearance for agricultural use. The implications of the environmental problems encountered with dieldrin, chlorfenvinphos and carbophenothion for the pre-clearance testing of new chemicals are discussed and the critical surveillance of the early years of commercial use of a chemical is recommended to support pre-clearance studies aimed at assessing the potential hazard to the environment.

Glutamate oxaloacetate transminase (GOT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), pseudo-cholinesterase (ChE) and various blood constituents were measured in the plasma of Japanese quail fed 1,1-di(p-chlorophenyl)-2-chloroethylene (DDMU) at low levels for periods ranging from 2 to 32 days. Previous work has shown that DDMU is a potent inducer of hepatic microsomal enzymes causing marked structural changes in the liver. A rapid increase in plasma GOT was observed within 4 days accompanied by an increase in relative liver weight. Plasma GDH and SDH increased to a maximum between 16 and 24 dyas which seems to be associated with hepatic cell proliferation. Plasma ChE showed a steady increase over the time course of DDMU administration. The level of plasma lipid was reduced after 4 days whereas the hepatic lipid content was substantially increased suggesting that the fatty liver condition may be caused by decreased release of triglyceride from the liver. Plasma glucose was reduced at 8 days but there was no evidence of a hyperglycaemic state. The changes noted after 2 days of DDMU diet were confirmed by measurements on birds 18 h after oral dosing the DDMU. The study demonstrates the value of plasma enzyme measurements for the early detection of toxic effects and indicates that DDMU administration leads to extrahepatic effects in addition to those previously described in the liver.

The effects of dietary administration of 1,1-di(p-chlorophenyl)-2-chloroethylene (DDMU) to Japanese quail at a concentration of 100 ppm were investigated for periods of up to 32 days. Hepatic morphology was studied by light microscopy. Histologic changes observed included cytoplasmic and nuclear degeneration in the hepatocytes followed by severe lipid accumulation and hepatocellular hypertrophy. There was a progressive increase in cytoplasmic vacuoles containing lipid up to Day 24 followed by a decrease by Day 32 when the numbers of vacuoles remained greater than those in untreated quail livers. The vacuoles showed a distribution which followed the functional acinar units of the liver. Increased numbers and hypertrophy were observed in Kupffer cells and fibrocytes. There was an occasional necrotic hepatocyte observed but this lesion was not a prominent feature. Hepatocellular hyperplasia occurred as the lipid accumulation decreased. The histologic findings are compared with the biphasic response previously described.