Bird repellents: interaction of chemical agents in mixtures

Numerous studies characterize the concentration-behavioral response for odorants, tastants, and irritants. However, to achieve ecological validity, interaction of agents in mixtures must be considered. Equiresponse and equimolar molar models of interactions have been proposed, and methods for testing whether agents in mixture interact independently have been evaluated. Yet these averaging models cannot a priori predict whether agents will interact antagonistically, independently, or synergistically. I studied the bird repellent properties of several structurally similar and well-described trigeminally mediated avian irritants, singly and in mixture. Compounds within a chemical class, in which the electron withdrawing groups were similar, interacted independently to produce their repellent effects, e.g., 2-amino methyl benzoate v methyl-2-methoxy benzoate, and o-aminoacetophenone v 2-methoxy acetophenone. The response to mixtures drawn from compounds of dissimilar chemical class, e.g., 2-amino methyl benzoate v o-aminoacetophenone, interacted antagonistically at concentrations below 10 mM, suggesting meditation by a different mechanism within the trigeminally mediated sensory modality. At 10 mM and near saturation of the solutions, there was no evidence of interaction between agents, suggesting responses became saturated. These observations underscore our previous findings for the importance of the molecular properties of the carbonyl group for aromatic bird repellents and suggests the possible existence of multiple receptor mechanisms for avian trigeminal repellents. These data also underscore the importance of attending to interactions of agents in mixtures when designing repellents as tools for the management of wildlife and resolution of conflicts between humans and wildlife.