ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDE-RESIDUES IN ANIMALS OF TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA - 1975-77

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 13 (3), 99-108
Abstract
Animals taken in Tasmania including duck (Anas superciliosa), eel (Anguilla australis), English perch (Perca fluviatilis), white-faced heron (Ardea pacifica), brown trout (Salmo trutta), European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), cat (Felis catus), cormorant (Phalacrocorax sp.), mutton bird (Puffinus tenuirostris), Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), rainbow trout (Salmo gairdnerii), Tasmanian raven (Corvus mellori), tench (Tinca tinca) and quail (Coturnix sp.) were sampled for p,p''-DDE, p,p-DDD, p,p''-DDT, lindane, dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene. Pesticide residue levels exceeded 0.1 ppm in at least 1 animal from each area and in the majority of animals sampled from all areas. Pesticide sources could not be determined, partly because migratory species such as ducks, mutton birds, cormorants and eels may have ingested pesticides outside of Tasmania.