Raptors

The detrimental effect of organochlorine pesticides on reproductive success in birds of prey is well established following the crash of some populations during the 1950s and 1960s. Links have been established with the DDT metabolite, DDE, the cyclodiene pesticides and Although many raptor species... 

Observed recovery in raptors has been slow owing to their lifecycle this is also an indication of the environmental movement and dispersal of endocrine disrupting chemicals from areas of intense agriculture to the aquatic environmental... 

TOR Signalling. Figure 2 Dimeric structure of mTORCI and mTORC2. mTORCI contains mTOR, raptor and mLST8. Raptor binds the HEAT repeats of mTOR, mLST8 binds the kinase domain of mTOR. mTORC2 contains mTOR, rictor, Sini and mLST8. Rictor and Sini cooperatively bind the HEAT repeats of mTOR. 

When ARs have been used to control rodents and vertebrate predators in conserved areas, there have been instances of both primary and secondary poisoning. In New Zealand, such incidents have been observed on islands where bait treated with brodifacoum has been used. Casualties have included native raptors, such as the Australasian harrier (Circus approximans) and morepork (Ninox novaeseelaniae), as well as other species, such as the pukeko. Western weka (Galliralus australis), and... 

Hegdal, P.L. and Colvin, B.A. (1988). Potential hazard to Eastern Screech owls and other raptors of brodifacoum bait used for vole control in orchards. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 7, 245-260. 

Merson, M.H., Byers, R.E., and Kaukeinen, D.E. (1984). Residues of the rodenticide brodifa-coum in voles and raptors after orchard treatment. Journal of Wildlife Management 48, 212-216. 

Mineau, P., Fletcher, M., and Glaser, L.C. et al. (1999). Poisoning of raptors with organophosphorous and carbamate pesticides with emphasis on Canada, U.S. and U.K. Journal of Raptor Research 33, 1-37. 

Nisbet, I.C.T. (1989). Organochlorines reproductive impairment and declines in bald eagle populations mechanisms and dose-response relationships. In B.U. Meyburg and R.D. Chancellor (Eds.) Raptors in the Modern World. Proceedings of the Third World Conference on Birds of Prey and Owls, Berlin 483-489. 

Walker, C.H. (2004). Organochlorine insecticides and raptors in Britain. In H.F. Van Emden and M. Rothschild (Eds.) Insect and Bird Interactions, Andover U.K Intercept, 133-145. 

Walker, C.H. and Newton, 1. (1999). Effects of cyclodiene insecticides on raptors in Britain— correction and updating of an earlier paper by Walker and Newton in Ecotoxicology 7, 185-189 Ecotoxicology 8, 425 30. 

Wallin K. 1984. Decrease and recovery patterns of some raptors in relation to the introduction and ban of alkyl-mercury and DDT in Sweden. Ambio 13 263-265. 

Wood PB. 1993. Mercury concentrations in blood and feathers of nestling Florida bald eagles. Annual Meeting of the Raptor Research Foundation, Inc, Charlotte, NC, November 28 68. 

Just like mammals, birds have a delayed reaction to lipotropHc pesticides such as OCPs and their metabolites. These toxic substances dissolve and accumulate in the fatty tissues of well-fed birds, and are comparably harmless in this form. However, once the bird starts using the stored fat (at the end of a long flight or when laying eggs), the substances are carried through the bloodstream to the brain, liver, or yolk of the egg, and poison all the systems [1]. In particular, well-fed raptors have lower DDE concentrations in their liver (0.5 mg/kg) than less well-fed (3.5 mg/kg) and emaciated birds (7.3 mg/kg) [6]. 

The table above shows the data Steve collected while watching birds for one week. How many raptors did Steve see on Monday ... 

Figure 6. US Marble using the RAPTOR to test for toxins and pathogens in drinking water in Bahrain.

Anderson G.P., Rowe-Taitt C.A., Water quality monitoring using an automated portable fiber optic biosensor RAPTOR, Proc. SPIE 4206 58-63, 2001. 

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