Abstract
Terrestrial gastropods (snails and slugs) have been shown to accumulate considerable quantities of the organochlorine insecticide DDT, with no noticeable toxic effect. These invertebrates serve as a source of this concentrated pesticide to vertebrate predators. Snails and slugs as non-target organisms accumulate DDT residues at concentrations equal to or considerably higher than the surrounding environment. Such information from the literature is summarized. Since little information is available on the site of residue accumulation in snails the present study was undertaken to determine the concentration and excretion of chlorine 36 DDT in the terrestrial pulmonate snail, Cepaea hortensis. Specific objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to determine the quantities of /sup 36/Cl DDT that are accumulated and excreted by the snail Cepaea hortensis, after a single feeding of DDT; (2) to determine the tissue concentration of the radioactive DDT; and (3) to determine the dynamics of DDT in the snail tissues at intervals of three and twenty-four hours, two, four, and eight days.
Published Version
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