In collaboration with the AHDC Comparative Coagulation Lab and Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital, the CWHL is working to validate a biomarker for anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) poisoning in wildlife, supported by a Catalyzing Conservation Fund grant through the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health. We are developing a biomarker to detect the clinically toxic effects of AR in living birds. ARs are poisons commonly used to control rodent pests worldwide. These chemicals work by disrupting the blood’s ability to clot, leading to severe internal bleeding and death. Unfortunately, when birds of prey eat rodents that have ingested ARs, they can also succumb to the effects of these poisons through secondary poisoning. Currently, detecting AR exposure in wildlife involves analyzing liver tissue after death because detection methods in live animals are unreliable.
Furthermore, the AR concentrations measured in postmortem liver samples that cause bleeding in birds are unknown. This limits our ability to provide effective treatment to individual birds and predict population risks. To address these problems, we aim to develop a test that detects the clinical effects of exposure in live birds of prey using a blood sample. Ultimately, this test could be used to detect AR poisoning in any bird species and for any type of anticoagulant compound. Defining the relationship between varying concentrations of tissue residue and their toxic effects in birds will provide guidelines for management strategies that mitigate wildlife morbidity and mortality caused by ARs.
