CHEMICAL BIRD REPELLENTS - POSSIBLE USE IN CYANIDE PONDS

Regulatory agencies are pressuring the mining industry to protect wildlife from mortality associated with the consumption of dump leachate pond water containing cyanide. Using European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) as an avian model, we tested the effectiveness of 5 chemical bird repellents at reducing consumption of pond water containing cyanide. The repellents, which were previously shown to be good bird repellents, were: o-aminoacetophenone (OAP), 2-amino-4,5-dimethoxyacetophenone (2A45DAP), methyl anthranilate (MA), 4-ketobenztriazine (4KBT), and veratryl amine (VA). Despite the high pH (10.6) and presence of chelating metals, conditions which we hypothesized might destroy the activity of repellents, each of the additives reduced pond water intake relative to controls for up to 5 weeks. The rank order (from best to worst) of repellents was: OAP, 2A45DAP, VA, MA, and 4KBT, although only OAP and 4KBT differed at the P < 0.05 level. These candidate repellents hold promise as a strategy to reduce bird losses at cyanide ponds and should be tested in the field.