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EFFECTS OF DICOFOL ON MALLARD EGGSHELL QUALITY
Citation:
Bennett, J., S. Dominguez, AND W. Giffis. EFFECTS OF DICOFOL ON MALLARD EGGSHELL QUALITY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-90/340 (NTIS PB91163543), 1990.
Description:
Dicofol is an organochlorine acaricide structurally similar to DDE and there is concern that it may effect avian reproduction. Effects of dietary dicofol on mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) egg production and eggshell quality were evaluated; the mallard is moderately sensitive to ODE shell-thinning toxicity. ens in egg production were fed either 0, 3, 10, 30, or 100 ug/g dicofol for 42 days (the formulation of dicofol contained <0.1% DDT-related impurities). ositive control study was also conducted in which mallard hens in egg production were fed 0, 3, 10, and 100 ug/g DDE for 42 days. Egg weight, shell thickness, shell strength, and dried shell weight were measured for all eggs produced. gg production was not affected by dicofol diets but the percentages of cracked and soft-shelled eggs from birds on the 100 ug/g dicofol diet were significantly (p <0.05) greater. hell strength, thickness, and weight were negatively related to dicofol dietary concentrations. Shell quality was reduced after one day of treatment with some dicofol diets. ffects of similar character and magnitude were observed in eggs from positive control birds fed DDE.
