Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
186,631 studies31 sourcesUpdated 3 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Spatiotemporal patterns of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in bobcats across the northeastern United States

  • Jennifer A. Grauer1
  • David B. Needle2
  • Krysten L. Schuler3
  • Patrick J. Connelly4
  • Gretchen Fowles5
  • Erica A. Miller6
  • Brehan Furfey7
  • Kim Royar8
  • Mandy B. Watson
  • Jacob DeBow
  • Jacqueline L. Frair
8 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Environmental Biology, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York, United States of America
  2. 2New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, United States of America
  3. 3Wildlife Health Lab, Public and Ecosystem Health Department, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
  4. 4Office of Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Fish and Wildlife, Hampton, New Jersey, United States of America
  5. 5Endangered and Nongame Species Program, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Fish and Wildlife, LebanonNew Jersey, United States of America
  6. 6Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, Springfield, Vermont, United States of America
  7. 7New York Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, New York, United States of America
  8. 8New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Lancaster, New Hampshire, United States of America
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Anticoagulant rodenticides are a pervasive threat to non-target wildlife health, with exposure in predators frequently driven by the interface of human development and wild spaces. Long-term regional data are needed to understand how exposure rates vary in relation to changing regulation and public use of rodenticide compounds. We analyzed opportunistic samples collected from 2013–2024 across the northeastern United States to quantify rates of anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) contamination in bobcats (Lynx rufus) and identify spatial hot spots of exposure. We detected seven AR compounds in 352 bobcats (59% exposed) across 4 states; the highest levels of exposure were in New Hampshire and Vermont. Our spatial clustering algorithm indicated localized hot spots of AR detection across New Hampshire, Vermont, and New Jersey, with New York clusters appearing cold by comparison. Exposed bobcats had 1–4 AR compounds (mean = 1.07, sd = 1.17) in their system and exposure rates varied by state, age, and sampling source (harvest versus roadkill) but not sex. Predicted odds of AR exposure increased by approximately 35%, and the predicted number of compounds increased by approximately 17%, for each year increase in bobcat age. Despite federal restrictions on the use of second-generation ARs going into effect during the course of our study, AR detection rates increased steadily over time at a rate of 25% per year. Our observations were similar to broad spatial patterns of AR exposure in northeastern fisher (Pekania pennanti), reflecting the ubiquity of AR exposure across predators with differing habitat use. This work provides baseline exposure information for a mesocarnivore species of interest, highlights a concerning trend of increasing AR exposure over time, and contributes to the growing evidence of widespread rodenticide contamination of non-target wildlife.

Related

  1. Species-specific gut microbiome responses to rodenticide exposure: restructuring in greenfinches but stability in pigeons
    Kohei Ogasawara, Masashi Koide, Ryo Nakao +3
    Frontiers in MicrobiologyPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0MicrobiologyFrontiersCrossref
  2. Evaluation of spatiotemporal patterns and uncertainty of multi-source remote sensing GPP products in the Southwest karst region of China
    Huanqiang Dong, Linna Wu, Xiaomei Li +3
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textEcologyCrossref
  3. Spatial, spatiotemporal, and epidemiological patterns of animal bites in the population covered by Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2015–2025
    Zahra Maleki, Alireza Dehghani, Mohammad Reza Etesamirad +2
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textMicrobiologyCrossref
  4. Natural predator-associated chemosignals evoke distinct spatiotemporal patterns of risk assessment and vomeronasal population responses
    J. Wang, V. Haran, J. P. Meeks
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NC-NDFull textNeurosciencebioRxiv
  5. Low-rank tensor decompositions reveal coupled spatiotemporal patterns of CSF tracer transport in the human brain
    A. R. Solheim, G. Ringstad, P. K. Eide +3
    bioRxivPreprintCC BYFull textNeurosciencebioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{grauer2026spatiotemporal,
  title = {{Spatiotemporal patterns of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in bobcats across the northeastern United States}},
  author = {Jennifer A. Grauer and David B. Needle and Krysten L. Schuler and Patrick J. Connelly and Gretchen Fowles and Erica A. Miller and Brehan Furfey and Kim Royar and Mandy B. Watson and Jacob DeBow and Jacqueline L. Frair},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0360055},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360055},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Spatiotemporal patterns of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in bobcats across the northeastern United States
AU  - Jennifer A. Grauer
AU  - David B. Needle
AU  - Krysten L. Schuler
AU  - Patrick J. Connelly
AU  - Gretchen Fowles
AU  - Erica A. Miller
AU  - Brehan Furfey
AU  - Kim Royar
AU  - Mandy B. Watson
AU  - Jacob DeBow
AU  - Jacqueline L. Frair
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0360055
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360055
AB  - Anticoagulant rodenticides are a pervasive threat to non-target wildlife health, with exposure in predators frequently driven by the interface of human development and wild spaces. Long-term regional data are needed to understand how exposure rates vary in relation to changing regulation and public use of rodenticide compounds. We analyzed opportunistic samples collected from 2013–2024 across the northeastern United States to quantify rates of anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) contamination in bobcats (Lynx rufus) and identify spatial hot spots of exposure. We detected seven AR compounds in 352 bobcats (59% exposed) across 4 states; the highest levels of exposure were in New Hampshire and Vermont. Our spatial clustering algorithm indicated localized hot spots of AR detection across New Hampshire, Vermont, and New Jersey, with New York clusters appearing cold by comparison. Exposed bobcats had 1–4 AR compounds (mean = 1.07, sd = 1.17) in their system and exposure rates varied by state, age, and sampling source (harvest versus roadkill) but not sex. Predicted odds of AR exposure increased by approximately 35%, and the predicted number of compounds increased by approximately 17%, for each year increase in bobcat age. Despite federal restrictions on the use of second-generation ARs going into effect during the course of our study, AR detection rates increased steadily over time at a rate of 25% per year. Our observations were similar to broad spatial patterns of AR exposure in northeastern fisher (Pekania pennanti), reflecting the ubiquity of AR exposure across predators with differing habitat use. This work provides baseline exposure information for a mesocarnivore species of interest, highlights a concerning trend of increasing AR exposure over time, and contributes to the growing evidence of widespread rodenticide contamination of non-target wildlife.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -