966 PESTICIDES
as: fathead minnows concentrated endrin 10,000 ; croak-
ers concentrated DDT 20,000 ; trout concentrated dieldrin
3300 ; oysters concentrated lindane 60 ; DDT 15,000 ;
and heptachlor 17,600 . In these cases, the water and
the animal tissue, especially the lipids, seem to form a
system of liquid-liquid partitioning between two immisci-
ble solvents and Hamelink et al. (1971) suggest that in fish
the pesticide passes through two partitions from water→
blood, and from blood→fat. They suggest that the partition
coefficients for the various organo-chlorine pesticides are
roughly proportioned to their solubility in fat (ca. 10 gl)→
solubility in water (DDT 0.0012, g-chlordane 0.009, aldrin
0.027, heptachlor 0.056, dieldrin 0.186, endrin 0.23, hepta-
chlor epoxide 0.35, and lindane 10 ppm). Calculated par-
tition coefficients for fatwater are: DDT ca. 10^6 , dieldrin
5 10 4 , heptachlor epoxide 3 10 4 , and lindane 10^3 which
are remarkably close to the actual levels of concentration
observed in nature.Pesticides and FishIt will be noted from Table 8 that many of the organic
insecticides are extremely toxic to fish in the ppb range,
e.g. endrin, dieldrin, aldrin, heptachlor, toxaphene, chlor-
dane and DDT. The synthetic pyrethroids are also toxic to
fish in the ppb range. Disastrous fish kills have resulted
from industrial effluents, accidental spillages and unwise
disposal of spray tank residues into ponds and streams
where fish and invertebrates may be killed for many miles
downstream. Examples of such accidents include massive
fish kills in the lower Mississippi River in 1963 attributed
to effluents from the manufacture of endrin (Barthel et al.,
1969) and in the lower Rhine River from the sinking of a
barge load of endsulfan.
DDT spraying of the Yellowstone River System in 1955 at
1 lbacre by air for spruce budworm control was responsible
for widespread mortality of mountain white-fish ( Proposium
williamstoni ), brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) and longnose
sucker ( Coatostomus catostomus ). After subsequent spray-
ing in 1957, dead fish were analyzed for DDT and the trout
contained from 0.186−14.0 ppm DDT and 0−6.53 ppm
DDE, and the whitefish 0.06−6.9 ppm DDT and 0−5.6 ppm
DDE (Cope, 1961). The prolonged and deleterious effects ofsuch spraying on important invertebrate sources of fish food
are shown in Table 9 (Cope, 1961). DDT aerial spraying of
the Lake George region of New York for gypsy moth control
was responsible for widespread contamination of the lake
and total loss of lake trout fry in 1955−1958. The affected
fry were observed to float upside down and then to sink and
die. The symptoms always occurred after absorption of the
yolk sac and subsequent study showed that DDT was pres-
ent at 4.75 ppm or more in the fish eggs which displayed this
syndrome and that as the yolk sac was absorbed the fish were
poisoned and subsequently died (Burdick et al., 1964).
Many other examples of the adverse effects of the
organochlorine pesticides on fish could be cited, and the
entire problem is reviewed by Johnson (1968).Pesticides and BirdsThe effects of pesticides on bird populations have been more
intensively considered than any other aspect of the impact of
pesticides on the environment. As with fish in the aquatic envi-
ronment, most of the concern has been directed at the use of
the persistent organochlorine insecticides (Moore, 1965; Rudd
and Genelly, 1956). Massive spraying of elms with DDT to
control the elm bark beetle vectors (Scolytidae) of Dutch elm
disease has resulted in dying robins and other birds (Barker,
1958; Hickey and Hunt, 1960). Such spraying contaminated
the soil up to 18 ppm and earthworms contain 53–204 ppm
DDT and DDE. Robins feeding on the contaminated earth-
worms suffered as much as 80% mortality and their bodies
contained a median residue of 3 mg DDT, an amount which
could be obtained by eating less than 100 earthworms. The
widespread use of cereal seeds treated with dieldrin, DDT
and other organo-chlorine insecticides has been an impor-
tant cause of bird mortalities. Sowing of DDT-treated rice
seed in California resulted in residues in pheasants averaging
740 ppm in body fat and lowered survival rates (Hunt, 1966).
Spring seeding with dieldrin, aldrin, and heptachlor treated
seed in Great Britain produced substantial evidence of birth
mortality and the use of seeds treated with the organochlo-
rine insecticides has been restricted in both the U.S. and Great
Britain (Moore, 1965).
Many of the pesticides listed in Table 8, especially aldi-
carb, carbofuran, diazinon, disulfoton, endrin, parathion, andTABLE 9
Effects of DDT forest spraying on bottom insects of Yellowstone RiveraNumber of organisms per 10 ft^2Plecoptera Ephemeroptera Trichoptera Diptera Other TotalPrespray 160 102 17 0 0 279
After 2 weeks 14 3 12 0 0 29
After 1 month 31 9 0 1 0 41
After 1 yr 35 91 103 39 15 283
a Data from Cope (1961).C016_004_r03.indd 966C016_004_r03.indd 966 11/18/2005 11:00:08 AM11/18/2005 11:00:08 AM