Biological Fate of DDT in a Sub-Arctic Environment

Abstract

Residues of DDT plus metabolites were determined in 660 samples of soil, plants, and animals in a 16-square mile area at Fort Churchill treated with 22 airsprays at 0.22 lb/acre applied between 1947 and 1964. The average residues of DDT plus metabolites in the fat of birds ranged between 3 ppm in the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopt4s) and 64 ppm in the arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) as compared with 0.2-12 ppm in fat from birds taken in the surrounding unsprayed areav The proportion of DDE found in the various bird species was partly dependent on the DDE production of their plant or invertebrate food. Of the tissues assessed, the pectoral muscle had the lowest residue, except in the case of the arctic tern and Bonaparte's gull (Larus philadelphia). FATE OF DDT IN THE SUB-ARCTIC * B1^0w and Brown 929 sistence and distribution of insecticidal seeddressings for control of ie wheat bulb fly, Leptohylemyia coarctata. Ann. Appl. Biol. 60( 2 ): 173-180. SCHAFER, E. W., R. I. STARR, D. J. CUNNINGHANI, AND T. I. DECINO. 1967. Substituted phenyl N-methylcarbamates as temporary immobilizing agents for birds. J. Agr. Food Chem. 1S ( 2 ) :287-289. WORONECKI, P. P., J. L. GUARINO, J. F. BESSER, AND J. W. DE GRAZIO. 1970. Carbamate baits discourage blackbirds from using feedlots. In Proc. 4th Vertebrate Pesticide Control Conf., Sacramento, California. March 3-S. Univ. California, Davis. ( In press. ) , , AND J. W. DE GRAZIO. 1967. Blackbird damage control with chemical frightening agents pp. 54-56. In Proc. 3rd Vertebrate Pesticide Control Conf., San Francisco, California. March 7-9. Univ. California, Davis. 177pp. Received for publication April 27, 1970. attractants, dyes, etc., can be incorporated without greatly altering the tablet's physical properties, and weathering characteristics can be controlled by the proper choice of binders and coating materials. These techniques for tableting, which are well documented and now routinely used in pharmacology, would allow the investigator to make uniform baits with almost any properties desired.