Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39836651›Full record

ArticlePloS one2025

Neonicotinoid exposure causes behavioral impairment and delayed mortality of the federally threatened American burying beetle, Nicrophorus americanus.

Michael C Cavallaro, Michelle L Hladik, R Shane McMurry, Samantha Hittson, Leon K Boyles, W Wyatt Hoback

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Michael C CavallaroDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-2836-8398
Michelle L HladikCalifornia Water Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Sacramento, CA, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-0891-2712
R Shane McMurryDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States of America.
Samantha HittsonDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States of America.
Leon K BoylesSchool of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, United States of America.ORCID 0009-0009-8407-6152
W Wyatt HobackDepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Among the most immediate drivers of American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus Olivier) declines, nontarget toxicity to pesticides is poorly understood. Acute, episodic exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides at environmentally relevant concentrations is linked to negative impacts on beneficial terrestrial insect taxa. Beyond mortality, behavioral indicators of toxicity are often better suited to assess sublethal effects of residual concentrations in the environment. First, Nicrophorus spp. congeners were used to generate and identify a low-dose exposure rate (lethal dose 10%; LD10) from an acute, 24-hour exposure and the concentration-series was confirmed by LC-MS/MS. Next, we evaluated the effects of single and repeated low-dose (LD10 = 58.9 ng/beetle) imidacloprid exposure on N. americanus behavior (10 minutes post-dose) and mortality (10 days post-dose). Behavior parameters were analyzed using EthoVision-XT. Control N. americanus were significantly less mobile, demonstrating death-feigning, an anti-predator behavior. Single LD10 dosed N. americanus were hyperactive, traveling over 4 times farther (total distance; p = 0.03) and faster (mean velocity; p = 0.02) than controls. Single and repeated LD10 dosed N. americanus extended their wings without taking flight and flipped on their backs. All control N. americanus survived 10 days post-dose; single LD10 and repeated LD10 exhibited 30% and 50% mortality, respectively. A single LD10 exposure event was sufficient to significantly elicit greater movement and high predation risk behaviors, whereas repeated LD10 exposure did not worsen behavioral impairment but increased mortality over time. Collectively, generalized linear mixed effects models indicated that distance traveled, velocity, and extended wings were significant predictors of mortality. Recently reclassified, the federally threatened N. americanus may be at greater risk to insecticide exposure than previously thought and vulnerable to episodic, low-dose neonicotinoid exposure.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalColeopteraInsecticidesNeonicotinoidsNitro CompoundsAnimalsEndangered SpeciesimidaclopridInsecticidesNeonicotinoidsNitro Compounds

Identifiers

PMID39836651
PMCPMC11750090

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.