Studying the Effects of Sodium-Based Bait On Oklahoma Wildlife at Tulsa Community College

Abstract

Sodium based bait has the potential to attract specific orders of animals, providing an opportunity to study these orders more closely. Animals require salt and can withstand high concentrations if fresh water is available. While physiologically necessary, excessive sodium chloride runoff is dangerous for wildlife and the environment. The purpose of this study was to test if Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, and Carnivora orders would be attracted to bait that contain higher levels of sodium as opposed to baits that contain less sodium. A motion-sensor camera was placed at the Southeast Tulsa Community College nature trail which includes a bottomland hardwood ecosystem in northeastern Oklahoma. Eleven bait types that varied in sodium concentrations from 0% to 2% were used throughout this study. Of the 502 capture trapped organisms visiting the camera trap in 30 days, 29% were Rodentia, 22% were Didelphimorphia, and 16% were Carnivora with 33% visits from “other” vertebrates. “Other” vertebrates included birds, turtles, and unidentified organisms. “Other” vertebrates and Rodentia appeared in the traps less often with greater concentrations of salt present in bait. No significant correlation between sodium content and sightings were found in Carnivora and Didelphimorphia. Next steps include data collection of number of species and number of sightings with a series of varying concentrations of the same bait paste in the same geographic location.