Abstract
ANALYSES of the organs of dead birds received by the Nature Conservancy show that most contain residues of organochlorine insecticides; the most frequently observed compound is pp′-DDE, while pp′-DDT and pp′-TDE are also commonly found1. The physiological significance of these residues, however, is not known. To determine the possible effect of the concentration of residues in various organs on the survival and reproduction of birds, toxicological studies are being carried out by feeding pp′-DDT to Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata). A pilot experiment to determine the sub-lethal and lethal ranges of chronic dose rates has been completed. This experiment was also designed to examine the possibility of using the residue content of the liver as an indicator of the dose of insecticide consumed.
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JEFFERIES, D., WALKER, C. Uptake of pp′-DDT and its Post-mortem Breakdown in the Avian Liver. Nature 212, 533–534 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/212533a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/212533a0
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