Changes in Body Weight and Water Consumption in Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs and Rock Doves Following red Phosphorus Smoke Exposures

Abstract

Effects of red phosphorus/butyl rubber (RP/BR) smoke on two wildlife species, black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) and rock doves (Columbia livia), were evaluated in laboratory range-finding experiments. Prairie dog groups were exposed to 2.0, 4.0, or 6.0 mg/L target concentrations of smoke generated for 1 h over 1–4 daily exposure sessions. Rock dove groups were exposed to either 0.0, 3.0, or 6.0 mg/L target concentrations for comparable time periods. Animals were monitored for body weight and water consumption changes for 28 days after their last smoke-exposure day. Body weight losses were severe and protracted in male rock doves, and these were correlated with significant mortality rates. Male doves exposed to 6.0 mg/L smoke concentration level never recovered their lost body weights to preexposure levels during the 28-day observation period. Prairie dogs, in contrast, only showed a 1-day body weight loss postexposure and a rapid recovery to their preexposure weight levels. Both species showed depressed water intakes for 1–2 days, followed by significantly elevated, sustained water consumption levels on days 10–28 postexposure, with the higher consumption levels directly related to the total number of daily smoke exposure sessions in rock doves. These protracted periods of elevated water consumption late in postexposure could have been due to lung irritation, inflammation, and edema effects previously indicated in albino rat studies. In rock doves, physical obstruction of the respiratory passages by mucus and exudate associated with pulmonary irritation could have also led to increased exertion due to breathing difficulties, increased energy expenditure, and a subsequent need for high water intake levels during late postexposure.