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Success of Eggs of the Shag on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, in relation to their Content of Dieldrin and pp′ DDE

Abstract

RECENT declines in the density and productivity of bird-eating predators, for example, the peregrine (Falco peregrinus) and sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus), have been attributed to the presence of organochlorine pesticides in the tissues and eggs of these birds1,2. It has been suggested that the lethal dose in adults of these species resulted from the ingestion of contaminated grain-eating prey3. Granivorous birds, especially the wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), suffered considerable mortality in the period 1956–1961 when they ingested organochlorine seed dressings of the cyclodiene type, during spring sowing programmes4,5.

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POTTS, G. Success of Eggs of the Shag on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, in relation to their Content of Dieldrin and pp′ DDE. Nature 217, 1282–1284 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2171282a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2171282a0

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