Responses of songbirds to aerial spraying of the microbial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Foray 48B®) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

• Published in: Environmental toxicology and chemistry Vol. 21; no. 8; pp. 1664 - 1672
• Main Authors: Sopuck, Lennart, Ovaska, Kristiina, Whittington, Bruce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01.08.2002; SETAC
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Aves; Bacillus thuringiensis; Bacillus thuringiensis - pathogenicity; Biological and medical sciences; British Columbia; Data Collection; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Monitoring; Female; Foray 48B; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gpsy moth; Insect Control; Male; Population Dynamics; Songbirds; Songbirds Food supply; Vocalization, Animal; Vancouver Island; Canada; British Columbia; North America; America; Chemical spray deposition; Toxicity; Insecta; Bacillaceae; Spatial variation; Biological productivity; Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki; Pest; Bacillales; Bacteria; Biopesticide; Aves; Species richness; Ecological abundance; Lymantriidae; Interspecific comparison; Vertebrata; Animal community; Arthropoda; Lepidoptera; Air pollution; Invertebrata; Non target organism; Food supply; Microbial insecticide; Lymantria dispar
• DOI: 10.1002/etc.5620210818
• ISSN: 0730-7268

Use of bacterial insecticides containing Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk) is gaining popularity as an environmentally safe control measure against lepidopteran pests, but indirect effects on nontarget organisms through reduced prey base have received little attention. Aerial spraying of Btk (Foray 48B®) over a 12,803‐ha area on southeastern Vancouver Island (BC, Canada) in May to June 1999 as part of a gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) control program provided us with an opportunity to examine the responses of songbirds to spray application. To obtain an estimate of species richness and relative abundance, we conducted standard songbird point‐count surveys in Garry oak (Quercus garryana)‐dominated habitats in Btk‐sprayed and unsprayed areas in April to June 1999 and, one year after spraying, in 2000. These surveys revealed no patterns consistent with adverse effects of spraying on the relative abundance of adult birds or singing males for any of the species, whether examined individually or when combined into foraging guilds. An exception was the spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus), which in 1999, but not in 2000, occurred at significantly lower numbers in sprayed plots after Btk treatment. Intensive searches of plots in sprayed and unsprayed areas revealed no differences in the numbers of songbird broods between the two areas for any of the species examined.