Anderson: Are insecticides toxic to pheasants and the places they live? DNR hopes to find out

When the Minnesota pheasant season opens Saturday, some hunters will be tested not only for their skills afield, but for their generosity.

If they’re fortunate enough to bag a rooster or two, in some parts of the state’s pheasant range they’ll be asked to forfeit their hard-earned bounty.

The sacrifices will be for a good cause. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is attempting to determine whether a group of insecticides known as neonicotinoids are hurting pheasants and the places they live.

To study the possible effects of the chemicals on pheasants, DNR researchers will be on site at a handful of state wildlife management areas this weekend asking successful hunters to contribute a total of five roosters at each location.

Now in its second year, the study is headed by upland game bird researcher Steven Woodley out of the DNR’s Madelia office.

Woodley discusses the study in the interview that follows. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: What are “neonics?’’

Q: How do neonics work?

A: Generally, they bind and disrupt insects’ brain receptors, causing them to over-stimulate and ultimately die if they consume a plant growing from a coated seed. Mammals and birds don’t have the same receptors. But there’s mounting evidence that birds are affected by neonics, possibly affecting migrators, but also possibly affecting non-migrators such as pheasants.

Q: Has any completed research shown negative effects of neonics on pheasants?

A: A thesis out of South Dakota State University that was unpublished tested captive pheasants that were fed neonic-treated corn seeds. The study estimated about 77 ingested coated seeds a day would be lethal to pheasants. The study also showed that some pheasants that ingested just 15 seeds a day demonstrated occasional lethargy.

Q: Do pheasants typically eat as many as 77 seeds a day?

Q: When are pheasants most exposed to treated seeds?

A: During spring planting. But also around silos and so forth, where seeds are spilled.

Q: Are songbirds similarly exposed, and do they typically consume these seeds?

A: Yes, songbirds that primarily consume seeds are similarly exposed.

Q: Is all of the insecticide taken up by the target plant, or does some end up in the soil and, possibly, nearby water?

Q: Do treated seeds taste different to birds than untreated seeds?

A: In the South Dakota State University study, given a choice between treated and untreated seeds, pheasants preferred untreated seeds.

Q: Are neonics banned in Europe?

A: Generally, yes. And some states in the U.S. restrict their use.

Q: Are there alternative insecticides that don’t have the potential risks that neonics do?

Q: Who is funding the DNR’s study?

A: The Legislature made the appropriation. A primary concern was the possible ingestion of neonic-coated seeds by pheasants. But neonics can last in soil for a long time, and being water soluble it’s possible they can leach into state Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that adjoin corn or soybean fields. So our three-year study — we’re in year two — is intended to check out not only the possible effects of neonics on pheasants, but their habitats.

Q: How is the study designed?

A: We’ve chosen six different WMAs each year, three larger and three smaller. Each adjoins soybean or corn fields. The intent is to see whether the larger complexes offer more protection to soil and wildlife from possible contamination than smaller complexes. Each year, before and after seeding, and also in July and October, we are collecting forbs, arthropods and soil from the margins and interior areas of these WMAs to check for possible contamination.

Q: You’re also testing pheasants directly, right?

Q: At what WMAs will DNR staff collect birds this weekend?

A: The six WMAs are in the southern part of the pheasant range. The farthest north is northeast of Marshall. The rest are from that point south to the Iowa border.

Q: Any results yet?