The Impact of Pesticides - Academy Publish

DDT Residues in Breeding Population of Booted Eagle(Aquila pennata) Associated with Agricultural LandPracticesEmma Martínez-López, Pedro María-Mojica, Pilar Gómez-Ramírez, JoséF. Calvo, José E. Martínez and Antonio J. García-FernándezABSTRACTIn this study we have used blood of Booted eagle (Aquila pennata) nestlings (n=62)to evaluate the exposure to p,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDD and p,p’-DDE in an agriculturalarea from Southeastern Spain in 1999-2003 breeding seasons. Our results showedthan the trans-Saharan migratory factor cannot account for the results obtained forDDT and its analogues in the blood samples and, therefore, other factors directlyassociated with the study zone must be considered. Perhaps, the recommended useof dicofol (a product in whose manufacture DDT is used) against specific plagues tothe more important crops in the study area, may account for the levels of DDT andits analogues present in the blood of forest raptor chicks. On the other hand, wecorroborated that the blood of Booted eagle chicks may be taken into account as acontrol unit for monitoring or evaluating situations associated with changes inagricultural land use or practice.INTRODUCTIONThe dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an organochlorine compound whichwas synthesized in 1874. Although technical DDT consists of several compounds,only p,p’-DDT (DDT), p,p’-DDD (DDD), and p,p’-DDE (DDE) have been relatedto adverse environmental effects (Blus, 1996). They were widely used inagricultural and malarial control programs from 1940s to 1960s with dramaticbenefits, but they fell into disfavour because of their persistence in the environment,wildlife and humans (Smith, 2004).Studies indicate that these compounds are directly correlated with impairedreproductive success, embryonic deformities, and mortality in wildlife (Custer et al.,1999; Konstantinou et al., 2000). There have been documented deleterious effects ofDDE in wild populations in birds (Helberg et al., 2005; Jiménez et al., 2005). DDEexposure is able to affect both adults and embryos resulting in mortality, reducedfertility, and suppression of egg formation, eggshell thinning and impairedincubation (Fry, 1995). In this sense, Mura et al. (2009) demonstrated that a singleexposure to low levels of p,p’-DDE during embryonic development may haveimportant neuroendocrine effects in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).In Spain, the use of DDT insecticide for agricultural practices was banned in 1994(Orden 4 de Febrero de 1994). However, it and its metabolites are still frequentlyAcademyPublish.org - The Impact of Pesticides321