Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds

Autores
Poliserpi, Maria Belen; Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena; Brodeur, Celine Marie
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Thiamethoxam (TMX) is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used for seed treatment in agriculture. Birds can be exposed to TMX by ingesting unburied seeds after sowing. This study evaluated the effects of a 21-day dietary exposure to TMX-treated millet seeds in the grayish baywing (Agelaioides badius), a farmland songbird. Birds (N = 8 per group) were exposed ad libitum to seeds treated with 0.27 (Low), 0.33 (Medium) and 4.3 (High) g TMX/kg seed; concentrations representing a concentration below the minimum recommended rate, the minimum approved rate, and a worst-case exposure scenario; respectively. A dose-dependent increase in seed consumption was observed in the latter stages of the experiment, suggesting compensatory feeding that amplifies toxicant intake. Feeding behavior was altered in medium and high treatments, while activity patterns were altered across all exposed birds. TMX reduced hematocrit in medium and high treatments, while the birds exposed to the lowest concentration presented tissue-specific modulations in enzymatic biomarkers, including elevated cholinesterase and glutathione S-transferase activities, indicating oxidative stress and cholinergic alterations. The high-dose group exhibited 50% mortality, finding of concern given TMX's classification as of low acute toxicity. High-dose survivor birds also displayed significant loss of body weight (−20.5%) and impaired anti-predator responsiveness. While the high treatment represents an unlike exposure scenario, acute concentrations can be ingested by birds gorging on spilled seeds. These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing the availability of treated seeds for birds and using the lowest effective approved seed treatment rates to reduce the risk of TMX to granivorous birds.
Instituto de Recursos Biológicos
Fil: Poliserpi, María Belén. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina
Fil: Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena. Universidad de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias. Departamento de Zoología; España
Fil: Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena. CSIC-UCLM-JCCM. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC); España
Fil: Brodeur, Julie C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina
Fil: Brodeur, Julie C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fuente
Environmental Pollution 410 : 129139. (December 2026)
Materia
Pájaros
Exposición al Pesticida
Tiametoxam
Insecticida Neonicotinoide
Fisiología
Birds
Pesticide Exposure
Thiamethoxam
Neonicotinoid Insecticides
Physiology
Semillas Tratadas
Treated Seeds
Agelaioides badius
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso restringido
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
oai:localhost:20.500.12123/28181
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/28181
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network_name_str INTA Digital (INTA)
spelling Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seedsPoliserpi, Maria BelenFernández Vizcaíno, ElenaBrodeur, Celine MariePájarosExposición al PesticidaTiametoxamInsecticida NeonicotinoideFisiologíaBirdsPesticide ExposureThiamethoxamNeonicotinoid InsecticidesPhysiologySemillas TratadasTreated SeedsAgelaioides badiusThiamethoxam (TMX) is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used for seed treatment in agriculture. Birds can be exposed to TMX by ingesting unburied seeds after sowing. This study evaluated the effects of a 21-day dietary exposure to TMX-treated millet seeds in the grayish baywing (Agelaioides badius), a farmland songbird. Birds (N = 8 per group) were exposed ad libitum to seeds treated with 0.27 (Low), 0.33 (Medium) and 4.3 (High) g TMX/kg seed; concentrations representing a concentration below the minimum recommended rate, the minimum approved rate, and a worst-case exposure scenario; respectively. A dose-dependent increase in seed consumption was observed in the latter stages of the experiment, suggesting compensatory feeding that amplifies toxicant intake. Feeding behavior was altered in medium and high treatments, while activity patterns were altered across all exposed birds. TMX reduced hematocrit in medium and high treatments, while the birds exposed to the lowest concentration presented tissue-specific modulations in enzymatic biomarkers, including elevated cholinesterase and glutathione S-transferase activities, indicating oxidative stress and cholinergic alterations. The high-dose group exhibited 50% mortality, finding of concern given TMX's classification as of low acute toxicity. High-dose survivor birds also displayed significant loss of body weight (−20.5%) and impaired anti-predator responsiveness. While the high treatment represents an unlike exposure scenario, acute concentrations can be ingested by birds gorging on spilled seeds. These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing the availability of treated seeds for birds and using the lowest effective approved seed treatment rates to reduce the risk of TMX to granivorous birds.Instituto de Recursos BiológicosFil: Poliserpi, María Belén. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena. Universidad de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias. Departamento de Zoología; EspañaFil: Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena. CSIC-UCLM-JCCM. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC); EspañaFil: Brodeur, Julie C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Brodeur, Julie C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaElsevier2026-10-20T11:42:52Z2026-10-20T11:42:52Z2026-12info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/28181https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02697491260150950269-74911873-6424https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129139Environmental Pollution 410 : 129139. (December 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PE-E2-I054-001, Gestión sostenible de fitosanitariosinfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-11-05T11:51:41Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/28181instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-11-05 11:51:41.693INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
title Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
spellingShingle Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
Poliserpi, Maria Belen
Pájaros
Exposición al Pesticida
Tiametoxam
Insecticida Neonicotinoide
Fisiología
Birds
Pesticide Exposure
Thiamethoxam
Neonicotinoid Insecticides
Physiology
Semillas Tratadas
Treated Seeds
Agelaioides badius
title_short Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
title_full Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
title_fullStr Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
title_full_unstemmed Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
title_sort Eating to survive … or not? Feeding compensation and toxicity in a songbird exposed to thiamethoxam treated millet seeds
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Poliserpi, Maria Belen
Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena
Brodeur, Celine Marie
author Poliserpi, Maria Belen
author_facet Poliserpi, Maria Belen
Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena
Brodeur, Celine Marie
author_role author
author2 Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena
Brodeur, Celine Marie
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Pájaros
Exposición al Pesticida
Tiametoxam
Insecticida Neonicotinoide
Fisiología
Birds
Pesticide Exposure
Thiamethoxam
Neonicotinoid Insecticides
Physiology
Semillas Tratadas
Treated Seeds
Agelaioides badius
topic Pájaros
Exposición al Pesticida
Tiametoxam
Insecticida Neonicotinoide
Fisiología
Birds
Pesticide Exposure
Thiamethoxam
Neonicotinoid Insecticides
Physiology
Semillas Tratadas
Treated Seeds
Agelaioides badius
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Thiamethoxam (TMX) is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used for seed treatment in agriculture. Birds can be exposed to TMX by ingesting unburied seeds after sowing. This study evaluated the effects of a 21-day dietary exposure to TMX-treated millet seeds in the grayish baywing (Agelaioides badius), a farmland songbird. Birds (N = 8 per group) were exposed ad libitum to seeds treated with 0.27 (Low), 0.33 (Medium) and 4.3 (High) g TMX/kg seed; concentrations representing a concentration below the minimum recommended rate, the minimum approved rate, and a worst-case exposure scenario; respectively. A dose-dependent increase in seed consumption was observed in the latter stages of the experiment, suggesting compensatory feeding that amplifies toxicant intake. Feeding behavior was altered in medium and high treatments, while activity patterns were altered across all exposed birds. TMX reduced hematocrit in medium and high treatments, while the birds exposed to the lowest concentration presented tissue-specific modulations in enzymatic biomarkers, including elevated cholinesterase and glutathione S-transferase activities, indicating oxidative stress and cholinergic alterations. The high-dose group exhibited 50% mortality, finding of concern given TMX's classification as of low acute toxicity. High-dose survivor birds also displayed significant loss of body weight (−20.5%) and impaired anti-predator responsiveness. While the high treatment represents an unlike exposure scenario, acute concentrations can be ingested by birds gorging on spilled seeds. These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing the availability of treated seeds for birds and using the lowest effective approved seed treatment rates to reduce the risk of TMX to granivorous birds.
Instituto de Recursos Biológicos
Fil: Poliserpi, María Belén. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina
Fil: Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena. Universidad de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias. Departamento de Zoología; España
Fil: Fernández Vizcaíno, Elena. CSIC-UCLM-JCCM. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC); España
Fil: Brodeur, Julie C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina
Fil: Brodeur, Julie C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
description Thiamethoxam (TMX) is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used for seed treatment in agriculture. Birds can be exposed to TMX by ingesting unburied seeds after sowing. This study evaluated the effects of a 21-day dietary exposure to TMX-treated millet seeds in the grayish baywing (Agelaioides badius), a farmland songbird. Birds (N = 8 per group) were exposed ad libitum to seeds treated with 0.27 (Low), 0.33 (Medium) and 4.3 (High) g TMX/kg seed; concentrations representing a concentration below the minimum recommended rate, the minimum approved rate, and a worst-case exposure scenario; respectively. A dose-dependent increase in seed consumption was observed in the latter stages of the experiment, suggesting compensatory feeding that amplifies toxicant intake. Feeding behavior was altered in medium and high treatments, while activity patterns were altered across all exposed birds. TMX reduced hematocrit in medium and high treatments, while the birds exposed to the lowest concentration presented tissue-specific modulations in enzymatic biomarkers, including elevated cholinesterase and glutathione S-transferase activities, indicating oxidative stress and cholinergic alterations. The high-dose group exhibited 50% mortality, finding of concern given TMX's classification as of low acute toxicity. High-dose survivor birds also displayed significant loss of body weight (−20.5%) and impaired anti-predator responsiveness. While the high treatment represents an unlike exposure scenario, acute concentrations can be ingested by birds gorging on spilled seeds. These findings emphasize the importance of minimizing the availability of treated seeds for birds and using the lowest effective approved seed treatment rates to reduce the risk of TMX to granivorous birds.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-10-20T11:42:52Z
2026-10-20T11:42:52Z
2026-12
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/28181
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749126015095
0269-7491
1873-6424
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129139
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/28181
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749126015095
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2026.129139
identifier_str_mv 0269-7491
1873-6424
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repograntAgreement/INTA/2019-PE-E2-I054-001, Gestión sostenible de fitosanitarios
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv restrictedAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Environmental Pollution 410 : 129139. (December 2026)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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