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. 2012 Aug 7;279(1740):3114-20.
doi: 10.1098/rspb.2012.0445. Epub 2012 Apr 18.

Historical pesticide applications coincided with an altered diet of aerially foraging insectivorous chimney swifts

Joseph J Nocera  1 , Jules M Blais, David V Beresford, Leah K Finity, Christopher Grooms, Lynda E Kimpe, Kurt Kyser, Neal Michelutti, Matthew W Reudink, John P Smol
Affiliations

Historical pesticide applications coincided with an altered diet of aerially foraging insectivorous chimney swifts

Joseph J Nocera et al. Proc Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Numerous environmental pressures have precipitated long-term population reductions of many insect species. Population declines in aerially foraging insectivorous birds have also been detected, but the cause remains unknown partly because of a dearth of long-term monitoring data on avian diets. Chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) are a model aerial insectivore to fill such information gaps because their roosting behaviour makes them easy to sample in large numbers over long time periods. We report a 48-year-long (1944-1992) dietary record for the chimney swift, determined from a well-preserved deposit of guano and egested insect remains in Ontario (Canada). This unique archive of palaeo-environmental data reflecting past chimney swift diets revealed a steep rise in dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and metabolites, which were correlated with a decrease in Coleoptera remains and an increase in Hemiptera remains, indicating a significant change in chimney swift prey. We argue that DDT applications decimated Coleoptera populations and dramatically altered insect community structure by the 1960s, triggering nutritional consequences for swifts and other aerial insectivores.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) Roost chimney and (b) guano deposit of chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica). At the base of a major roost chimney located in Kingston, Ontario, a 2-m-deep chronostratified deposit of chimney swift guano was discovered and studied to reconstruct the historical diet of chimney swifts and assess relative prevalence of prey remains, stable isotopes and pesticides.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Four components of historical diet of chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica). (a) Proportion of Hemiptera remains per sample; (b) proportion of Coleoptera remains per sample; (c) levels of δ15N; and (d) p,p′DDE from a chronostratified deposit of chimney swift guano in Ontario, Canada. For reference, the insecticidal properties of DDT were first discovered in 1939; it was in widespread use by 1945 and was banned in North America in 1973 [19]. Chronostratigraphy of guano was verified by analysis of 137Cs content and known dates of chimney opening and closure. Trend lines are loess curves with a sampling proportion (span) of (a) 3.0 for, (b,c) 1.5 for and (d) 7.0 for; further details on curve fitting are provided in the electronic supplementary material.
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