The effects of brodifacoum cereal bait pellets on early life stages of the rice coral Montipora capitata

PeerJ

article

Alexandria L. Barkman¹  Robert H. Richmond¹ 

[1] Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii at Manoa

关键词: Coral reproduction;    Pesticides;    Brodifacoum;    Rodent eradication;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13877

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is home to ground nesting birds that are threatened by invasive mice. Planned rodent eradication efforts for the island involve aerial application of cereal bait pellets containing the chemical rodenticide brodifacoum. Given the nature of the application method, drift of cereal bait pellets into the coastal waters surrounding Midway Atoll is unavoidable. To understand whether cereal bait pellets impact marine invertebrates, gametes and larvae of the reef-building coral Montipora capitata43% after prolonged exposure to 4 g per L pellet solutions. The highest concentration used in this study was meant to represent an extreme and unlikely condition resulting from an accidental spill. Our findings indicate large amounts of cereal bait pellets entering the coastal environment of Midway Atoll, if occurring during a coral spawning event, would reduce coral reproduction by decreasing fertilization success. It is difficult to know the ecologically relevant concentrations of cereal bait pellets in coastal environments due to unavoidable bait drift after land applications, but results indicate small amounts of pellet drifting into coastal environments would not severely reduce coral reproductive capacity. Best management practices should consider known coral reproductive periods when scheduling applications of pellets on tropical islands to reduce the risk of negative impacts of large-scale accidents on corals.

【 授权许可】

CC BY