sodium monofluoroacetate

Bioacoustic monitoring of lower North Island bird communities before and after aerial application of 1080

Modern aerial 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) operations are effective in reducing population densities of possums, rats and stoats, thereby reducing predation pressure on birds. Debate regarding 1080 use, however, continues to centre on potential non-target effects, with some groups claiming that birds are killed in large numbers such that forests “fall silent”. We investigated these claims by recording birdsong for 5–8 weeks before and after three separate 1080 operations in the Aorangi and Remutaka Ranges of the lower North Island, New Zealand.

Survival of PIT-tagged lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata) through an aerial 1080 pest control operation

Introduced mammalian predators, in particular rats (Rattus spp.), are a major threat to New Zealand bat populations. Aerial application of the toxin sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) is currently the most costeffective method of controlling rats across large spatial extents. Lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata) may be vulnerable to secondary poisoning from 1080 because they feed on invertebrate prey on the ground that may have consumed toxic bait.

Evaluating opossum poisoning operations by interference with non-toxic baits

From eight trials made during 1967-69 a technique was developed for estimating the reduction, by poisoning, of opossums (Trichosurus vulpecula) from the extent of interference with non-toxic flour-paste baits. The model assumes that opossums do not, through experience and learning, search for other baits close by.
The trial data showed that contagion, an increase in levels of bait interference from night to night and very high acceptance levels were a consequence of baits having been preferentially placed on open ridges and spaced too closely.

Effects of an aerial 1080 possum poison operation using carrot baits on invertebrates in artificial refuges at Whirinaki Forest Park, 1999 – 2002

The effects of an aerial 1080 possum poison operation using carrot baits on invertebrates in Whirinaki Forest Park are described from an un-replicated study of artificial refuges attached to tree trunks. Auckland tree weta (Hemideina thoracica), cave weta (Pharmacus sp.

Bird species diversity and abundance before and after eradication of possums and wallabies on Rangitoto Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand

Five-minute bird counts were made on Rangitoto Island in 1998 and 1999, 8 and 9 years after the start, and 1 and 2 years after the completion of a 7-year programme that resulted in eradication of the introduced brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and brushtailed rock wallaby (Petrogale penicillata). These were compared with counts made in 1990 (immediately before the start of the programme), to assess whether bird species diversity and abundance had increased as a result of the eradications. The number of bird species detected in 1998/99 was similar to 1990.

Comparing methods for assessing mortality impacts of an aerial 1080 pest control operation on tomtits (Petroica macrocephala toitoi) in Tongariro

This study aimed to estimate the level of mortality of North Island tomtits (Petroica macrocephala toitoi) during an aerial 1080 possum poisoning operation in Tongariro Forest, New Zealand, and to evaluate transect-based alternatives to banding for monitoring tomtit populations. The operation used 12 g toxic (1080 at 0.15% weight/weight) cereal baits sown at 3 kg/ha. Transects were established at three neighbouring sites; two within the 1080 poison area, and one outside.

Measuring mortality in short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata) as they return from foraging after an aerial 1080 possum control operation

Lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata) feed on arthropod taxa known to consume 1080 baits. Thus, they may be vulnerable to secondary poisoning after control operations for brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) using aerially broadcast 1080 baits. Short-tailed bat mortality was monitored during 11 days after 1080 baits were broadcast over their winter foraging area. Monitoring involved catching a sample of 269 bats as they arrived at a roost after foraging, then holding them in captivity for 48 hours.

Mortality of North Island tomtits (Petroica macrocephala toitoi) caused by aerial 1080 possum control operations, 1997- 98, Pureora Forest Park

Aerial poisoning operations with carrot or cereal baits are used to control brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) populations in New Zealand forests for ecosystem conservation and to stop the spread of bovine tuberculosis to cattle and deer herds on adjacent farmland. Although various measures have been implemented to reduce the incidence of bird kills, dead birds continue to be found after poison operations.

An assessment of the probability of secondary poisoning of forest insectivores following an aerial 1080 possum control operation

Assays for the toxin sodium monofluoroacetate (compound 1080) were undertaken on arthropods collected from toxic baits after a brushtail possum (Trichosorus vulpecula) control operation in Nothofagus forest in central North Island, New Zealand. The 1080 concentrations measured (mean 57 mu g per g, max 130 mu g per g) are considerably higher than those reported by other researchers who collected arthropods randomly after control operations.

Fate of sodium monofluroacetate (1080) following disposal of pest bait to a landfill

The results of a programme to monitor the containment and natural breakdown of approximately 12 000 kg of toxic vertebrate pest bait, containing compound 1080 (sodium monofluroacetate), in a landfill site are reported. The baits were buried in a purpose-dug pit in a managed solid waste disposal site at Winton in central Southland, New Zealand, in August 1996. Compound 1080 is used extensively in a bait form to control a range of introduced vertebrate pests, (e.g., European rabbit, Australian brush tailed possum), which cause considerable economic and environmental damage in New Zealand.