Arsenic accumulation in bark beetles and forest birds occupying mountain pine beetle infested stands treated with...

The arsenic-based pesticide, monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA), is presently being evaluated for re-registration in Canada and the United States and has been widely used in British Columbia to help suppress Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) outbreaks. We assessed the availability and exposure of MSMA to woodpeckers and other forest birds that may prey directly on contaminated bark beetles. Total arsenic residues in MPB from MSMA treated trees ranged from 1.3-700.2 microg g(-1) dw (geometric mean 42.0 microg g(-1)) with the metabolite monomethyl arsonic acid (MMAA) contributing 90-97% to the total arsenic extracted. Live adult and larval beetles were collected from treated trees and reached concentrations up to 327 microg g(-1) dw. MPBs from reference trees had significantly lower arsenic concentrations averaging 0.19 microg g(-1) dw. Woodpeckers foraged more heavily on MSMAtreesthat contained beetles with lower arsenic residues, suggesting those trees had reduced MSMAtranslocation and possibly greater live beetle broods. Blood samples from five species of woodpeckers and other forest passerines breeding within 1 km of MSMA stands contained elevated levels of total arsenic but with large individual variability (geometric mean = 0.18 microg g(-1) dw, range 0.02-2.20 microg g(-1). The results indicate that there is significant accumulation and transfer of organic arsenic within the food chain at levels that may present a toxicity risk to avian wildlife.