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Selecting surrogate endpoints for estimating pesticide effects on avian reproductive success
Citation:
Bennett, R. AND M. Etterson. Selecting surrogate endpoints for estimating pesticide effects on avian reproductive success. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, KS, 9(4):600-609, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
This manuscript defines and elaborates the process of selecting surrogate endpoints from toxicity tests for use in models of animal population response to pesticide exposure. The specific example used focuses on surrogate endpoints used in the MCnest model, but many of the principles elaborated would apply equally, or in slightly modified form, to other lab to field extrapolation problems. The manuscript will primarily be of interest to the risk assessment community and to ornithologists interested in contaminants.
Description:
A Markov chain nest productivity model (MCnest) has been developed for projecting the effects of a specific pesticide-use scenario on the annual reproductive success of avian species of concern. A critical element in MCnest is the use of surrogate endpoints, defined as measured endpoints from avian toxicity tests that represent specific types of effects possible in field populations at specific phases of a nesting attempt. In this paper we discuss the attributes of surrogate endpoints and provide guidance for selecting surrogates from existing avian laboratory tests as well as other possible sources. We also discuss some of the assumptions and uncertainties related to using surrogate endpoints to represent field effects. The process of explicitly considering how toxicity test results can be used to assess effects in the field helps identify uncertainties and data gaps that could be targeted in higher-tier risk assessments.
URLs/Downloads:
Selecting surrogate endpoints for estimating pesticide effects on avian reproductive success