Skip to main content

FRAMES logo
Resource Catalog

Document

Type: Journal Article
Author(s): D. M. Buscemi; D. J. Hoffman; N. B. Vyas; J. W. Spann; W. J. Kuenzel
Publication Date: 2002

Eggs of nesting birds situated in peripheral areas serving as fire breaks are at risk of being sprayed with fire control chemicals. Acute toxicity tests were conducted by immersing northern bobwhite quail eggs for 10 s in different water-based concentrations of Silv-Ex® (SE), a foam-suppressant chemical, and Phos-Chek® G75-F (PC), a fire retardant chemical, on day 4 or day 11 of incubation. An attempt was made to relate the treatment concentrations to the actual field application levels. Mortality appeared higher in most groups exposed on day 11 than on day 4, suggesting that on day 11 the extensive chorioallantoic vascular network permitted greater uptake of chemical. Only 24-60% of the embryos survived to hatch at exposure concentrations of 202, 269, and 454 g/L PC when treated on incubation day 11. At higher concentrations including 681, 956, and 1,211 g/L PC, the compound did not completely dissolve in water and clumped on eggshells, resulting in greater hatching success. Exposures to SE at 100 g/L on incubation day 11 did not significantly affect hatching success of embryos but did significantly reduce the percent hematocrit in blood compared with controls. Incubation day 11 exposure to 202 and 1,211 g/L PC led to a significant increase in plasma aspartate aminotransferase, and day 4 exposure to 1,211 g/L PC resulted in a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase. In addition to elevated liver enzymes, these treatments resulted in a decrease in the number of hepatocyte profiles (1,211 g/L PC at day 4 and day 11) and an increase in hepatocyte size (202 and 1,211 g/L PC at day 11) in hatchlings. A combination of SE and PC was synergistic (202 g/L PC and 50 g/L SE) at day 11 of incubation with respect to decreased hatching success and reduced bone lengths. However, lower concentrations of SE (10 g/L or 30 g/L) combined with 202 g/L of PC appeared antagonistic. This may be due to SE, as a surfactant, altering the ability of PC to penetrate the egg. Our results show fewer adverse effects following exposure to SE than to PC; therefore application of SE may be less harmful to breeding bird populations. © 2002 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Citation: Buscemi, D. M., D. J. Hoffman, N. B. Vyas, J. W. Spann, and W. J. Kuenzel. 2002. Effects of Phos-Chek® G75-F and Silv-Ex® on developing northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, v. 43, no. 3, p. 330-337. 10.1007/s00244-002-0218-3.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    National
Keywords:
  • birds
  • chemical compounds
  • Colinus virginianus
  • ecosystem dynamics
  • enzymes
  • fire control
  • fire dependent species
  • fire management
  • fire retardants
  • fire suppression
  • firebreaks
  • mortality
  • nesting
  • New York
  • nongame birds
  • reproduction
  • toxicity
  • water
  • wildlife habitat management
Tall Timbers Record Number: 21658Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Fire FileAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 46008

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.