The Impact of Pesticides - Academy Publish

The Booted eagle is a trans-Saharan migratory species. Little is known for thisspecies about the routes used during migration to Africa. The satellite tracking ofthree female adults from a French and Spanish population showed that the winteringareas used by these individuals extended to Niger, Mali, Burquina Faso and Senegal(Chevallier et al., 2010; Díaz, 2006). However, in the studies on Booted eaglesringed in Spain and recovered between 15 November and 14 February, only fiveindividuals were recovered in African countries (Morocco, Togo, Mali, Algeria, andNigeria) and the rest birds wintered in Spain (García-Dios, 2004). This fact,supports the idea suggested by Martínez and Sánchez-Zapata (1999) and Sunyer andViñuela (1996) of a positive tendency of wintering in Mediterranean areas instead ofmigrating to Africa. In a previous study on these species in Southeastern of Spain,we concluded that the eggs of Booted eagle were contaminated with OCs inconcentrations lower than those associated with adverse effects. However, the 15%of the Booted eagle eggs examined in that study contained DDE residues that wouldbe expected to cause significant (15%) eggshell thinning (Martínez-López et al.,2007).The study area (Murcia Region) has one of the highest sales rates of pesticides inSpain (10.14% of the nation-wide total) (AEPLA, 2010). During the period of timestudied in this work, the use of DDT was permitted in the manufacture ofinsecticides commonly used in Spain such as dicofol. In that period, there were 62products registered in Spain which contained dicofol (MARM, 2005).The aim of this study was to analyze DDT and its metabolites in the blood ofBooted eagle nestlings in order to evaluate the exposure to these compounds and tocheck the possible influence of the migratory process on these concentrations.MATERIAL AND METHODSTo carry out the sampling it was necessary to obtain permits from the AutonomousRegional Government of Murcia.SpeciesThe Booted eagle (Aquila pennata) is a trans-Saharan medium-sized raptor species,which usually nests in trees and, more rarely on cliffs (del Hoyo et al., 1994).Although it is a common species of the forests and woodland areas of the IberianPeninsula, several authors have shown that Booted eagle selects areas with amixture of woodlands and open lands, suggesting the importance of extensive cropsadjacent to the nesting woodland patches as foraging habitats for the species(Sánchez-Zapata and Calvo, 1999; Suárez et al., 2000). In terms of its conservation,one of the threats highlighted for this species is the potential accumulation oforganochloride pesticides, possibly affecting reproductive success, as has beendescribed for other migratory species (Muñoz and Blas, 2003).AcademyPublish.org - The Impact of Pesticides323