General Project Description
Photo by: Charles Dymock/SCETV
The Clemson Bobcat & Rodenticide Study is a collaborative research effort aimed at understanding the connection between human development, rodenticide use, and bobcat populations in the Southeastern US. This study spans two barrier islands along the South Carolina coast and is one of the few attempts to document and understand the prevalence of anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) in the Southeast, and the first of its kind in South Carolina. Further, this research aims to highlight the population-level effects of ARs on bobcat movement, survival, and prey preference.
The study is housed within the Jachowski Lab at Clemson University and led by PhD candidate Meghan Keating. This project is a collaborative effort between Clemson University, the Town of Kiawah Island, the Kiawah Conservancy, the Kiawah Island Community Association, the Yawkey Foundation, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
The study is housed within the Jachowski Lab at Clemson University and led by PhD candidate Meghan Keating. This project is a collaborative effort between Clemson University, the Town of Kiawah Island, the Kiawah Conservancy, the Kiawah Island Community Association, the Yawkey Foundation, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
What are anticoagulant rodenticides?
Figure from Keating et al. 2024
ARs are a pesticide used to control commensal rodents in residential, commercial, and agricultural settings. ARs effectively blocking vitamin K recycling, an important component of blood clotting, and ultimately kill rodents through severe blood loss and organ failure. ARs were developed over several decades, and are classified as either first-generation (warfarins) or second-generation (superwarfarins) compounds. Second-generation ARs are more potent than their first-generation predecessors and have a higher risk of non-target exposure, or poisoning animals other than rodents. This most often occurs through the ingestion of poisoned prey. Death by ARs is not immediate, so target rodents can be preyed upon by animals such as bobcats, who then experience similar effects, but often less acutely lethal, effects of the rodenticide.
Non-target exposure to ARs has been documented globally, however documentation of acute poisoning is rare compared to other ill-effects. Typically, exposed animals experience decreased body condition through sub-lethal internal hemmorhaging and are susceptible to other ailments such as mange. The findings on Kiawah Island are an example of acute poisoning by ARs, catalyzing further efforts to understanding the relationship between AR prevalence and bobcat ecology.
Non-target exposure to ARs has been documented globally, however documentation of acute poisoning is rare compared to other ill-effects. Typically, exposed animals experience decreased body condition through sub-lethal internal hemmorhaging and are susceptible to other ailments such as mange. The findings on Kiawah Island are an example of acute poisoning by ARs, catalyzing further efforts to understanding the relationship between AR prevalence and bobcat ecology.
In the News
Rodenticide use to be restricted under new statewide regulations. Clemson News. January 2025.
Rat Poison Harms Endangered Wildlife Up and Down the Food Chain, EPA Warns. Inside Climate News. December 2024.
Paws and Preservation - Saving Bobcats on Kiawah Island | What's Wild! South Carolina ETV. August 2024.
Meghan Keating discussess how rat poison can have a bad effect on carnivores. KCBS San Francisco. August, 2024.
Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world. The Conversation US. August 2024.
Kiawah community works together to through pledge to save bobcat population. The Post and Courier. June 2024.
Update on AR Level Increases. Town of Kiawah Island Newsletter. June 2024.
Nurturing In-town Nature. Uptown: Municipal Association of South Carolina. June 2024.
The Last Meal. Decipher Creative Inquiry Magazine. November 2023.
The Grassroots effort to save Kiawah Island's bobcats. Sierra Magazine. May 2023.
Clemson Bobcat and Rodenticide Project. The Wildlife Society Southeastern Section. February 2023.
Positive trends among bobcat population on Kiawah Island. ABC 4 News Charleston. October 2022.
State Assembles Task Force to Address Control of Rodents on Kiawah Island. Clemson News. November 2020.
Rat Poison Harms Endangered Wildlife Up and Down the Food Chain, EPA Warns. Inside Climate News. December 2024.
Paws and Preservation - Saving Bobcats on Kiawah Island | What's Wild! South Carolina ETV. August 2024.
Meghan Keating discussess how rat poison can have a bad effect on carnivores. KCBS San Francisco. August, 2024.
Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world. The Conversation US. August 2024.
Kiawah community works together to through pledge to save bobcat population. The Post and Courier. June 2024.
Update on AR Level Increases. Town of Kiawah Island Newsletter. June 2024.
Nurturing In-town Nature. Uptown: Municipal Association of South Carolina. June 2024.
The Last Meal. Decipher Creative Inquiry Magazine. November 2023.
The Grassroots effort to save Kiawah Island's bobcats. Sierra Magazine. May 2023.
Clemson Bobcat and Rodenticide Project. The Wildlife Society Southeastern Section. February 2023.
Positive trends among bobcat population on Kiawah Island. ABC 4 News Charleston. October 2022.
State Assembles Task Force to Address Control of Rodents on Kiawah Island. Clemson News. November 2020.
