DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Title

RODENTICIDE ECOTOXICOLOGY: SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION

Authors

R.H. Smith, University of Reading, UK
Paula R. Cox, University of Reading, UK
M. Rampaud, ICI Public Health

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

March 1990

Exposure, as well as toxicity, determines whether rodenticides present real environmental hazards to nontarget animals. In order to combine exposure and toxicity, a compartment model is proposed which distinguishes transfer processes from accumulation of residues. The published literature relevant to the model is analyzed, and some important gaps in knowledge are highlighted. Simple sub-models of rat feeding behavior and mortality are combined into a simulation model which generates data on both efficacy of control and build-up of residues in live rats and carcasses. The roles of feeding parameters (e.g., palatability, availability of alternative food) as well as toxicity are emphasized by the simulation results.