Walker C H
Cissbury, Hillhead, Colyton, Devon EX24 6NJ, UK.
Ecotoxicology. 2003 Feb-Aug;12(1-4):307-16. doi: 10.1023/a:1022523331343.
Organochlorine, organophosphorus, carbamate, pyrethroid and neonicotinoid insecticides and organomercury fungicides are all neurotoxic and therefore have the potential to cause behavioural disturbances in birds. A number of studies have described behavioural effects caused to captive birds by neurotoxic pesticides, but it is very difficult to measure such effects in the field, which is a serous limitation given their potential to cause adverse effects at the population level. The mode of action, and the neurotoxic and behavioural effects of these compounds are briefly reviewed before considering evidence for their effects in the laboratory and field. Behavioural effects may cause adverse changes at the population level either directly or indirectly. Direct effects upon avian populations may be due to disturbances of reproduction, feeding, or avoidance of predation. Indirect effects on predators may be the consequence of direct action upon the prey population leading to either (1) reduction of numbers of the prey population, or (2) selective predation by the predator upon the most contaminated individuals within the prey population. Attention is given to the historic evidence for neurotoxic and behavioural effects of persistent organochlorine insecticides, raising the question of retrospective analysis of existing data for this once important and intensively studied class of compounds. Less persistent pesticides currently in use may also have neurotoxic effects upon birds in the field. Sometimes, as with some OPs, their effects may outlast the persistence of their residues, and the ecotoxicity and persistence of some may be affected by interactions with other environmental chemicals. The development of new mechanistic biomarker assays could improve understanding of behavioural effects and possible associated effects at the population level caused by such compounds in the field.
有机氯、有机磷、氨基甲酸酯、拟除虫菊酯和新烟碱类杀虫剂以及有机汞杀菌剂都具有神经毒性，因此有可能导致鸟类行为紊乱。许多研究描述了神经毒性杀虫剂对圈养鸟类造成的行为影响，但在野外很难测量这些影响，鉴于它们有可能在种群水平上造成不利影响，这是一个严重的限制。在考虑这些化合物在实验室和野外的影响证据之前，先简要回顾一下它们的作用方式以及神经毒性和行为影响。行为影响可能直接或间接导致种群水平的不利变化。对鸟类种群的直接影响可能是由于繁殖、觅食或躲避捕食受到干扰。对捕食者的间接影响可能是对猎物种群直接作用的结果，导致（1）猎物种群数量减少，或（2）捕食者对猎物种群中受污染最严重的个体进行选择性捕食。文中关注了持久性有机氯杀虫剂神经毒性和行为影响的历史证据，提出了对这类曾经重要且经过深入研究的化合物的现有数据进行回顾性分析的问题。目前使用的持久性较低的杀虫剂在野外也可能对鸟类具有神经毒性。有时，就像一些有机磷化合物一样，它们的影响可能会持续到其残留消失之后，而且一些化合物的生态毒性和持久性可能会受到与其他环境化学物质相互作用的影响。新的机制性生物标志物检测方法的开发可以增进对这类化合物在野外造成的行为影响以及可能在种群水平上产生的相关影响的理解。
