Correlation between Coleoptera abundance in cattle excrements and pesticide contamination of nature conservation areas grazed by cattle

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2024-11, Vol.949, p.175030, Article 175030
• Main Authors: Buijs, Jelmer, Ragas, Ad M.J., Hendriks, A. Jan, Mantingh, Margriet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; cattle; chemical analysis; chlorpropham; Coleoptera; environment; feces; metabolites; natural resources conservation; Nature conservation areas; Pesticides; soil; species; Toxicity; vegetation
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175030

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between pesticide contamination at 16 locations in 14 Dutch nature conservation areas and the abundance of Coleoptera (among which dung beetles) in excrements of grazing cattle. A wide spectrum of pesticides was measured in soil, vegetation and excrements of cattle, obtained from all locations. In the fresh dung pats sampled for chemical analysis, beetle numbers were counted and beetle species were identified. In total, 31 different pesticides (including some metabolites) were detected: 14 in fresh excrements, 17 in soil and 20 in vegetation. Total pesticide concentrations in soil, vegetation and excrements varied between 2.6 and 200 μg kg −1 dry matter. In vegetation, the most frequently encountered classes of pesticides (including some of their metabolites) were fungicides (9), herbicides (4) and insecticides (6). The total number of Coleoptera beetles in dung pats correlated negatively with the total concentration of insecticides in vegetation (Kendall's τ −0.501 at p