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AUTHOR: Katelin Goebel, University of Minnesota Twin Cities ABSTRACT: Increasing evidence suggests that acute toxicity to pesticides may be a greater threat to grassland wildlife than habitat loss due to agricultural intensification. In Minnesota, many of the remaining grasslands are highly fragmented and surrounded by row crops, including over 3 million hectares of soybeans. The primary insecticides used to combat soybean aphids in Minnesota’s agricultural region, namely chlorpyrifos, lambda-cyhalothrin, and bifenthrin, have been shown to be highly toxic to non-target organisms such as birds and pollinators. Members of the public and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife managers have observed fewer birds and insects after these insecticides are applied in late summer, raising concerns regarding the impacts of these chemicals on populations of grassland wildlife. However, little is known about the deposition of these chemicals in grasslands in an agricultural matrix under typical application conditions. The objectives of our research project are to assess the direct and indirect exposure risks of grassland birds and their insect food resources to soybean aphid insecticides in Minnesota’s farmland region. Our study sites will be located in southwestern and south-central Minnesota, and sampling will take place during summer 2017. Our research will allow us to inform decision-making by land managers and private landowners so they can better design areas managed for wildlife and grass buffers, thus reducing the impacts of spray drift on grassland wildlife.
