The grey partridge: problems of quantifying the ecological effects of pesticides.

Abstract

During the past seventy years about fifty different pesticides have been widely used in the U.K. for the protection of cereals, grasses and their associated root and 'break' crops. Throughout this period there have been three main trends in these compounds as a result of concern for their undesirable side effects; they have either become less toxic, less persistent or more selective. However, in the crop environment they have generally become more efficient in the treatment of the pest organisms and there appears to be little doubt that their combined ecological impact on the farmland fauna and flora has been growing exponentially for about forty years (Potts & Vickerman 1974b).

The Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) is almost entirely dependent on the farmland fauna and flora and is frequently exposed to pesticides; moreover, it has steadily declined as these chemicals have been introduced into the environment. Nevertheless, the side effects on partridges have not been clearly demonstrated; the difficulty is due partly to their ecological nature and partly to our inability to identify and quantify the causes of natural mortality, even without pesticides.

This paper indicates advances that have been made in studies on the causes of variation in the survival rate of Partridge chicks. These allow a preliminary assessment of the role of pesticides, and of the kind of research necessary to further investigate the effects of environmental chemical contamination.