Detecting Cryptic Exposure and Effects of Neurotoxic Insecticides to Migratory Birds

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Many migratory and farmland associated bird species are exhibiting precipitous population declines across North America. One of the main putative causes is the role of pesticides affecting birds using agricultural landscapes. Conventional agricultural practices in North America have increased reliance on agrochemicals over the past 35 years to maintain or increase production yields in highly simplified landscapes. Migrating and farmland associated birds can be exposed to toxic insecticides through ingestion of treated seeds or granules, sprayed soils or contaminated prey items and water. Since avian migration is a complex process that requires integration of multisensory information for successful orientation and navigation and rapid refueling at the staging sites, even subtle, insidious perturbations from insecticide exposure could delay a bird's migration, change their route, and reduce their survival and chance to reproduce. However, studies remain inconclusive about the magnitude of pesticide effects relative to landscape and habitat alterations that have co-occurred. Remarkably, few studies have explicitly tested whether pesticides could be directly responsible for processes underpinning species losses in agricultural habitats. My goal is to begin disentangling whether insecticides are playing a disproportionate role in the decline of avifauna in North America relative to habitat alterations toward simplified landscapes alone. Through comprehensive GIS desktop exercises, field studies, and captive experiments using many common farmland bird species (eg. grassland sparrows and blackbirds, aerial insectivorous swallows and introduced European starlings) as well as cutting edge technologies (sensitive pesticide residue analysis, automated telemetry, eDNA metabarcoding and bioacoustic analyses), I will explore the multiple aspects of sublethal insecticide exposures and effects. The research will explore the complex processes that underpin stable bird populations and communities, provide new insight into the root causes of global farmland bird declines, and pinpoint viable solutions that can aid conservation efforts.  It will also create a platform for a rich training experience for students to prepare them for diverse careers in ecology, ecotoxicology and conservation biology fields.