Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure
Research on anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in wildlife has primarily focused on apex predators, with less attention given to their potential integration into lower trophic levels and the associated exposure pathways. At the base of the terrestrial food web, invertebrates have been suggested as pot...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Toxics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/505 |
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| author | Beatriz Martín Cruz Andrea Acosta Dacal Ana Macías-Montes Cristian Rial-Berriel Manuel Zumbado Luis Alberto Henríquez-Hernández Ramón Gallo-Barneto Miguel Ángel Cabrera-Pérez Octavio P. Luzardo |
| author_facet | Beatriz Martín Cruz Andrea Acosta Dacal Ana Macías-Montes Cristian Rial-Berriel Manuel Zumbado Luis Alberto Henríquez-Hernández Ramón Gallo-Barneto Miguel Ángel Cabrera-Pérez Octavio P. Luzardo |
| author_sort | Beatriz Martín Cruz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Research on anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in wildlife has primarily focused on apex predators, with less attention given to their potential integration into lower trophic levels and the associated exposure pathways. At the base of the terrestrial food web, invertebrates have been suggested as potential vectors of ARs to insectivorous species such as small mammals, reptiles, and birds. To explore this hypothesis, we analyzed the presence of nine anticoagulant rodenticides—including both first-generation (FGARs) and second-generation (SGARs) rodenticides—in 36 liver samples from Yemen chameleons (<i>Chamaeleo calyptratus</i>) and 98 liver samples from six non-raptorial, predominantly insectivorous bird species from the Canary Islands. Through HPLC-MS/MS analysis, only SGARs were detected in both animal groups collected between 2021 and 2024. Approximately 80% of reptiles and 40% of birds tested positive for at least one SGAR, with brodifacoum being the most frequently detected compound. In more than 90% of positive cases, it was found as the sole contaminant, while co-occurrence with other SGARs was uncommon. Additionally, most concentrations were below 50 ng/g wet weight, except for two bird specimens, suggesting heterogeneous exposure scenarios and potential variability in contamination sources across individuals. These findings provide evidence of AR integration at the base of the terrestrial food web in the Canary Islands and suggest secondary exposure via invertebrates as a plausible route of contamination. Further research directly analyzing invertebrate samples is needed to confirm their role as vectors of ARs to insectivorous wildlife in insular ecosystems. |
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| id | doaj-art-743926754d6548c9acb91c6b9be5fdb9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj-art-743926754d6548c9acb91c6b9be5fdb92025-08-20T03:32:32ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042025-06-0113650510.3390/toxics13060505Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of ExposureBeatriz Martín Cruz0Andrea Acosta Dacal1Ana Macías-Montes2Cristian Rial-Berriel3Manuel Zumbado4Luis Alberto Henríquez-Hernández5Ramón Gallo-Barneto6Miguel Ángel Cabrera-Pérez7Octavio P. Luzardo8Toxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainToxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainToxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainToxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainToxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainToxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainGestión y Planeamiento Territorial y Medioambiental, S.A. (GESPLAN), Canary Islands Government, C/León y Castillo 54, bajo, 35003 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainGeneral Directorate to Combat Climate Change and the Environment, Biodiversity Service, Canary Islands Government, Plaza de los Derechos Humanos, 22, Edificio Servicios Múltiples I. 8ª Planta, 35071 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainToxicology Unit, Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences (IUIBS), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paseo Blas Cabrera s/n, 35016 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SpainResearch on anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in wildlife has primarily focused on apex predators, with less attention given to their potential integration into lower trophic levels and the associated exposure pathways. At the base of the terrestrial food web, invertebrates have been suggested as potential vectors of ARs to insectivorous species such as small mammals, reptiles, and birds. To explore this hypothesis, we analyzed the presence of nine anticoagulant rodenticides—including both first-generation (FGARs) and second-generation (SGARs) rodenticides—in 36 liver samples from Yemen chameleons (<i>Chamaeleo calyptratus</i>) and 98 liver samples from six non-raptorial, predominantly insectivorous bird species from the Canary Islands. Through HPLC-MS/MS analysis, only SGARs were detected in both animal groups collected between 2021 and 2024. Approximately 80% of reptiles and 40% of birds tested positive for at least one SGAR, with brodifacoum being the most frequently detected compound. In more than 90% of positive cases, it was found as the sole contaminant, while co-occurrence with other SGARs was uncommon. Additionally, most concentrations were below 50 ng/g wet weight, except for two bird specimens, suggesting heterogeneous exposure scenarios and potential variability in contamination sources across individuals. These findings provide evidence of AR integration at the base of the terrestrial food web in the Canary Islands and suggest secondary exposure via invertebrates as a plausible route of contamination. Further research directly analyzing invertebrate samples is needed to confirm their role as vectors of ARs to insectivorous wildlife in insular ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/505insectsbiomonitoringfood chainbrodifacoumnon-raptor birdsreptiles |
| spellingShingle | Beatriz Martín Cruz Andrea Acosta Dacal Ana Macías-Montes Cristian Rial-Berriel Manuel Zumbado Luis Alberto Henríquez-Hernández Ramón Gallo-Barneto Miguel Ángel Cabrera-Pérez Octavio P. Luzardo Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure Toxics insects biomonitoring food chain brodifacoum non-raptor birds reptiles |
| title | Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure |
| title_full | Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure |
| title_fullStr | Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure |
| title_short | Widespread Contamination by Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Insectivorous Wildlife from the Canary Islands: Exploring Alternative Routes of Exposure |
| title_sort | widespread contamination by anticoagulant rodenticides in insectivorous wildlife from the canary islands exploring alternative routes of exposure |
| topic | insects biomonitoring food chain brodifacoum non-raptor birds reptiles |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/13/6/505 |
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