Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T19:30:36.512Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of avermectin residues in cattle dung on yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae) populations in grazed pastures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2007

L. Webb ,
D.J. Beaumont ,
R.G. Nager  and
D.I. McCracken
L. Webb*
Affiliation:
Land Economy and Environment Research Group, Scottish Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr, KA6 5HW, UK South and West Scotland Regional Office, RSPB Scotland, 10 Park Quadrant, Glasgow, G3 6BS, UK
D.J. Beaumont
Affiliation:
Reserves Ecology, RSPB Scotland, 25 Ravelston Terrace, Edinburgh, EH4 3TP, UK
R.G. Nager
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
D.I. McCracken
Affiliation:
Land Economy and Environment Research Group, Scottish Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr, KA6 5HW, UK
*
*Fax: 0141 331 9080 E-mail: lisa.webb@rspb.org.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The effects of avermectin exposure on natural populations of the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria Linnaeus, were investigated at the field scale on farms in south-west Scotland. Pastures forming the focus of the study were grazed with either untreated cattle or cattle receiving standard, manufacturer-recommended treatment regimes of an avermectin product. Flies were sampled between April and July in 2002 and 2003 using dung-baited pitfall traps. Abundance and wing asymmetry in S. stercoraria populations were examined in relation to a range of environmental and management variables (including avermectin exposure, pasture management intensity, weather and season). Data used for abundance analyses were collected in fields where treated cattle had been dosed with either doramectin or ivermectin, while the data for the asymmetry analyses were from a subset of fields where treated cattle had been dosed with doramectin only. While abundance of S. stercoraria varied significantly between years and with season, there was no difference in their abundance between fields grazed by avermectin-treated or untreated cattle. Asymmetry was significantly higher in fly populations in fields grazed by doramectin-treated cattle, suggesting that exposure to doramectin during development could have imposed some degree of environmental stress. While these results suggest that exposure to doramectin residues in dung on grazed pastures may have sublethal effects on the insects developing in that dung, there was no evident avermectin effect on the abundance of adult S. stercoraria occurring in the pastures.

Keywords

avermectinivermectindoramectinScathophaga stercorariadung flyabundancefluctuating asymmetry
Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 97 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 129 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahtiainen, J.J., Alatalo, R.V., Mappes, J. & Vertainen, L. (2003) Fluctuating asymmetry and sexual performance in the drumming wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata. Annales Zoologici Fennici 40, 281–292.Google Scholar
Allen, G.R. & Simmons, L.W. (1996) Coercive mating, fluctuating asymmetry and male mating success in the dung fly Sepsis cynipsea. Animal Behaviour 52, 737–741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanckenhorn, W.U., Henseler, C., Burkhard, D.U. & Briegel, H. (2001) Summer decline in populations of the yellow dung fly: diapause or quiescence? Physiological Entomology 26, 260–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borgia, G. (1982) Experimental changes in resource structure and male density: size-related differences in mating success among male Scathophaga stercoraria. Evolution 36, 307–315.Google Scholar
Campbell, W.C. (1985) Ivermectin: an update. Parasitology Today 1, 10–16.Google Scholar
Clarke, G.M. (1995) Relationships between developmental stability and fitness: applications for conservation biology. Conservation Biology 9, 18–24.Google Scholar
Clarke, G.M. & McKenzie, L.J. (1992) Fluctuating asymmetry as a quality control indicator for insect mass rearing processes. Journal of Economic Entomology 85, 2045–2050.Google Scholar
Clarke, G.M. & Ridsdill-Smith, T.J. (1990) The effect of avermectin B1 on developmental stability in the bush fly, Musca vetustissima, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 54, 265–269.Google Scholar
Downie, I.S., Ribera, I., McCracken, D.I., Wilson, W.L., Foster, G.N., Waterhouse, A., Abernethy, V.J. & Murphy, K.J. (2000) Modelling populations of Erigone atra and E. dentipalps (Araneae: Linyphiidae) across an agricultural gradient in Scotland. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 80, 15–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincher, G.T. (1992) Injectable ivermectin for cattle: effects on some dung-inhabiting insects. Environmental Entomology 21, 871–876.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D. (1998) Off-target effects of ivermectin on insects and on dung degradation in southern Alberta, Canada. Bulletin of Entomological Research 88, 25–35.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D. & Fox, A.S. (1999) Indirect effects of ivermectin residues across trophic levels: Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) and Muscidifurax zaraptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 89, 225–229.Google Scholar
Floate, K.D., Spooner, R.W. & Colwell, D.D. (2001) Larvicidal activity of endectocides against pest flies in the dung of treated cattle. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 15, 117–120.Google Scholar
Fox, A.D. (2004) Has Danish agriculture maintained farmland bird populations? Journal of Applied Ecology 41, 427–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbons, D.S. (1987) The causes of seasonal changes in numbers of the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae). Ecological Entomology 12, 173–185.Google Scholar
Gover, J. & Strong, L. (1995) The effects of ivermectin in ingested cow-dung on the mortality and oviposition of the dung fly Neomyia cornicina (Diptera: Muscidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 85, 53–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halley, B.A., Nessel, R.J. & Lu, A.Y.H. (1989) Environmental aspects of ivermectin usage in livestock: general considerations. pp. 162–172in Campbell, W.C.(Ed.) Ivermectin and abamectin. Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Hosken, D.J., Blanckenhorn, W.U. & Ward, P.I. (2000) Developmental stability in yellow dung flies (Scathophaga stercoraria): fluctuating asymmetry, heterozygosity and environmental stress. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 13, 919–926.Google Scholar
Liggett, A.C., Harvey, I.F. & Manning, J.T. (1993) Fluctuating asymmetry in Scathophaga stercoraria L.: successful males are more symmetrical. Animal Behaviour 45, 1041–1043.Google Scholar
Littell, R.C., Milliken, G.A., Stroup, W.W. & Wolfinger, R.D. (1996) SAS® system for mixed models. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Madsen, M., Grønvold, J., Nansen, P. & Holter, P. (1988) Effects of treatment of cattle with some anthelmintics on the subsequent degradation of their dung. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 29, 515–517.Google Scholar
Mahon, R.J. & Wardhaugh, K.G. (1991) Impact of dung from ivermectin-treated sheep on oogenesis and survival of adult Lucilia cuprina. Australian Veterinary Journal 68, 173–177.Google Scholar
Marley, S.E., Hall, R.D. & Corwin, R.M. (1993) Ivermectin cattle pour-on: duration of a single late spring treatment against horn flies, Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) in Missouri, USA. Veterinary Parasitology 51, 167–172.Google Scholar
Martin, O.Y. & Hosken, D.J. (2002) Asymmetry and fitness in female yellow dung flies. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 76, 557–563.Google Scholar
McCracken, D.I. (1993) The potential for avermectins to affect wildlife. Veterinary Parasitology 48, 273–280.Google Scholar
McCracken, D.I. & Foster, G.N. (1993) The effect of ivermectin on the invertebrate fauna associated with cow dung. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 12, 73–84.Google Scholar
Meyer, J.A., Simco, J.S. & Lancaster, J.L. (1980) Control of face fly larval development with the ivermectin, MK-933. Southwestern Entomologist 5, 207–209.Google Scholar
Møller, A.P. (1992) Female swallow preference for symmetrical male sexual ornaments. Nature 357, 238–240.Google Scholar
Møller, A.P. (1996) Development of fluctuating asymmetry in tail feathers of the barn swallow Hirundo rustica. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 9, 677–694.Google Scholar
Møller, A.P. & Swaddle, J.P. (1997) Asymmetry, developmental stability and evolution. Oxford, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Otronen, M. (1995) Male distribution and mate searching in the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria: comparison between paired and unpaired males. Ethology 100, 265–276.Google Scholar
Palmer, A.R. & Strobeck, C. (1986) Fluctuating asymmetry: measurement, analysis, patterns. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 17, 391–421.Google Scholar
Palmer, A.R. & Strobeck, C. (2003) Fluctuating analyses revisited. pp. 279–319in Polak, M.(Ed.) Developmental instability: causes and consequences. Oxford, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Parker, G.A. (1970) The reproductive behaviour and the nature of sexual selection in Scathophaga stercoraria L. (Diptera: Scathophagidae) I. Diurnal and seasonal changes in population density around the site of mating and oviposition. Journal of Animal Ecology 39, 185–204.Google Scholar
Parsons, P.A. (1992) Fluctuating asymmetry: a biological monitor of environmental and genomic stress. Heredity 68, 361–364.Google Scholar
Pitts, K.M. & Wall, R. (2006) Cold shock and cold tolerance in larvae and pupae of the blow fly, Lucilia sericata. Physiological Entomology 31, 57–62.Google Scholar
Roslin, T. (2000) Dung beetle movements at two spatial scales. Oikos 91, 323–335.Google Scholar
Rushton, S.P., Ormerod, S.J. & Kerby, G. (2004) New paradigms for modelling species distributions? Journal of Applied Ecology 41, 193–200.Google Scholar
SAS Institute (2001) SAS®/STAT Release 8.2. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Schmidt, C.D. (1983) Activity of an avermectin against selected insects in aging manure. Environmental Entomology 12, 455–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, K.E. & Wall, R. (1998) Estimates of population density and dispersal in the blowfly Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 88, 65–73.Google Scholar
Sneddon, L.U. & Swaddle, J.P. (1999) Asymmetry and fighting performance in the shore crab Carcinus maenas. Animal Behaviour 58, 431–435.Google Scholar
Stewart, K.E.J., Bourn, N.A.D. & Thomas, J.A. (2001) An evaluation of three quick methods commonly used to assess sward height in ecology. Journal of Applied Ecology 38, 1148–1154.Google Scholar
Strong, L. & James, S. (1993) Some effects of ivermectin on the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria. Veterinary Parasitology 48, 181–191.Google Scholar
Swaddle, J.P. (1997) Developmental stability and predation success in an insect predator–prey system. Behavioural Ecology 8, 433–436.Google Scholar
Swaddle, J.P., Witter, M.S. & Cuthill, I.C. (1994) The analysis of fluctuating asymmetry. Animal Behaviour 48, 986–989.Google Scholar
Toutain, P.L., Upson, D.W., Terhune, T.N. & McKenzie, M.E. (1997) Comparative pharmacokinetics of doramectin and ivermectin in cattle. Veterinary Parasitology 72, 3–8.Google Scholar
Wall, R. & Strong, L. (1987) Environmental consequences of treating cattle with the antiparasitic drug ivermectin. Nature 327, 418–421.Google Scholar
Ward, P.I. & Simmons, L.W. (1990) Short-term changes in numbers of the yellow dung fly Scathophaga stercoraria (Diptera: Scathophagidae). Ecological Entomology 15, 115–118.Google Scholar
Webb, L. (2004) The impact of avermectin usage on the ecology of dung insect communities and the potential implications for foraging birds. PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow.Google Scholar