Pesticide use on cereals and the survival of grey partridge chicks: a field experiment.
Abstract
A field experiment in Hampshire was undertaken to test whether the herbicides, fungicides and insecticides used on cereal fields reduce the survival of grey partridge (Perdix perdix) chicks. Mean brood size and the abundance of insects as food for partridge chicks were significantly higher where small areas of cereal fields were left unsprayed than on completely sprayed fields. The implications of these findings for the conservation of the grey partridge are discussed.