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T. E. Kaiser

Publications and source records attributed to T. E. Kaiser.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1984

Pesticide, PCB, and lead residues and necropsy data for bald eagles from 32 states - 1978-81

In 1978–81, 293 bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) from 32 states were necropsied and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and lead residues. DDE was found in all carcasses; PCB, DDD, trans -nonachlor, dieldrin and oxychlordane were next in order of percent frequency of detection. The median levels of DDE and PCB have declined when compared with previous collections. Five specimens contained high levels of dieldrin in their brains which may have contributed to their deaths. Seventeen eagles contained liver lead residues greater than 10 ppm and probably died of lead poisoning. Trauma and shooting are the most common causes of death.

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment↗
USGS1984

Organochlorine pesticide residues in moths from the Baltimore, MD-Washington, D.C. area

Moths were collected with a light trap from 15 sites in the Baltimore, Maryland-Washington, D.C. area and analyzed for organochlorine pesticide residues. On the average, the species sampled contained 0.33 ppm heptachlor-chlordane compounds, 0.25 ppm DDE, and 0.11 ppm dieldrin. There were large differences in the concentrations detected in different species. Concentrations were especially high in moths whose larvae were cutworms, and were virtually absent from moths whose larvae fed on tree leaves. It was concluded that at least some species sampled could be an important source of insecticides to insectivorous wildlife. In some instances moths may be useful indicators of environmental contamination, especially when insectivorous wildlife species cannot be collected. However, the differences in residues observed among species means that only similar species should be compared, and this limits their potential for monitoring.

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment↗
USGS1984

Effects of heptachlor- and lindane-treated seed on Canada geese

A study of Canada geese (B. canadensis) was conducted in the Pacific Northwest from 1978 through 1981. Lowered reproductive success, mortality of adults, and a population decline of resident western Canada geese (B. c. moffitti) at the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge (Umatilla NWR) Oregon and Washington [USA] were associated with the use of heptachlor-treated wheat. Analyses of eggs and tissues from dead geese provided strong evidence that heptachlor was responsible for the mortality and decreased production. Residues of heptachlor epoxide (HE) in brains of B. c. moffitti found dead in 1978 and 1979 equalled or exceeded the lethal hazard zone of 8-9 .mu.g/g in experimental passerine birds; HE residues of > 10 .mu.g/g in sample eggs were associated with low nest success. The breeding population of Canada geese at Umatilla decreased from 129 pairs in 1974 to about 100 pairs in 1979. The heptachlor problem was restricted to the Umatilla area; HE residues were low in tissues and eggs collected at other sites in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In Sept., 1979, the use of heptachlor-treated seed was banned in a 1700-km2 area that encompassed both sides of the Columbia River near Umatilla. Lindane was substituted for heptachlor in the restricted area in 1979, and its use was extended to much of the Columbia Basin in 1981. Concurrently, reproductive success of geese increased, mortality decreased, and the nesting population increased to 170 pairs by 1983. There was no evidence for either biomagnification of lindance residues from treated seed to goose tissues or eggs or for induction of adverse effects by this compound.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1984

Heptachlor seed treatment contaminates hawks, owls, and eagles of Columbia Basin, Oregon

We evaluated organochlorine residues in 12 species of hawks. owls, and eagles from the Columbia Basin of Oregon between 1978 and 1981. Companion studies showed that heptachlor epoxide (HE) induced adult mortality and reduced productivity of the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) and American Kestrel (Falco sparverius).ln this study, brain tissue from raptors found dead and sample eggs from 90 nests were analyzed for organochlorines. The primary concern was HE that entered raptor food chains through the ingestion of heptachlor-treated seed by their prey. HE residues were detected in eggs from 9 of 10 species and ranged as high as 4.75 ppm (wet wt), but no definite effects of HE on productivity were readily apparent from the limited series of nests. However, the hazard of heptachlor seed treatments to birds of prey was demonstrated by the occurrence of lethal residues of HE in brain tissue of 3 Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and 1 Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus). Other organochlorine pesticides were present in the eggs and significant relationships were found between DDE and eggshell thickness for the Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) and Western Screech-Owl (Otus kennicotti), although shell thinning (9.6% and 7.4%) was below the generally accepted range where reproductive problems have been known to occur.

Raptor Research↗
USGS1983

Organochlorine residues in Atlantic coast black-crowned night-heron eggs, 1979

Eggs of Black-crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) were collected in 1979 from two colonies in North Carolina, two colonies in Rhode Island, and one colony in Massachusetts. Mean concentrations of DDE and PCBs were higher in the New England samples than in those from North Carolina, Mean concentrations of organochlorine contaminants in addled eggs collccted at two New England colonies were not significantly different from those in randomly selected eggs. In comparison with the results of a similar study conducted in 1973 at two of the New England colonies, concentrations of DDE in night-heron eggs were lower in 1979, DDD was less frequently detected, DDT and dieldrin were less frequently detected in eggs from one of the two colonies, and eggshell thickness was greater in 1979 for one of the colonies. PCB concentrations in eggs from one colony were lower in 1979 than 1973.

Colonial Waterbirds↗
USGS1980

Pollution ecology of breeding great blue herons in the Columbia Basin, Oregon and Washington

Approximately 40 pairs of Great Blue Herons ( Ardea herodias ) formerly nested in trees on or near Blalock Island about 95 km downstream from Richland, Washington, in the Columbia River (Nehls 1972 ). In conjunction with construction of the John Day Lock and Dam and before creating Lake Umatilla in 1968, large trees along the shoreline, including those in the heronry on Blalock Island, were removed except for about six cottonwood trees ( Populus sp.) that were left standing near the south bank of the river (David Lenhart, pers. comm.). As a mitigation procedure, the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge (Umatilla) was established in 1967. The herons subsequently established a secondary heronry in the six cottonwoods; 20 pairs were present in 1971 (Nehls 1972). The inundated trees died and deteriorated; only two trees with eight nests remained in 1976 (Henny and Kurtz 1978), and we found just two nests in one tree in 1978. With a decrease in traditional nesting sites, the birds nested on islands in big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ), on channel markers in the Columbia River, and on nesting platforms constructed for Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ). The purpose of this paper is to describe the breeding biology of Great Blue Herons at Umatilla and the McNary Recreation Area (McNary) in 1978 and the relationship of organochlorine residues in eggs to eggshell thickness and reproductive success. The primary reason for conducting this study was to determine if the heptachlor seed treatment that was severely affecting Canada Geese at Umatilla (Blus et al. 1979) was also a hazard to Great Blue Herons. At the same time we also investigated possible effects of other organochlorines on the herons.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1979

Organochlorine residues in eggs of the endangered American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)

Most of the 27 species and subspecies of surviving crocodilians have declining populations and 22 of them are considered to be severely endangered (IUCN 1971). The United States population of the American Crocodile is no exception; it probably numbers between I00 and 300 individuals (OGDEN 1976). Nests of the species have been regularly surveyed by the staff of Everglades National Park. Our sample consists of eggs that remained in nests after the hatching of broods and of one clutch laid in captivity by an unmated female. Analysis of these samples for organochlorine contaminants has permitted a detailed examination of their contaminant loads and has allowed comparisons with a small sample analyzed in 1972 (OGDEN et al. 1973).

Florida↗
USGS1979

Bone development in black ducks as affected by dietary toxaphene

Black ducks, Anas rubripes, were exposed to dietary toxaphene concentrations of 0, 10, or 50 μg/g of food for 90 days prior to laying and through the reproductive season. Toxaphene did not affect reproduction or survival, but reduced growth and impaired backbone development in ducklings. Collagen, the organic matrix of bone, was decreased significantly in cervical vertebrae of ducklings fed 50 μg/g, and calcium conentrations increased in vertebrae of ducklings fed 10 or 50 μg/g. The effects of toxaphene were observed only in female ducklings. In contrast to effects on vertebrae, toxaphene exposure did not alter tibia development. Toxaphene residues in carcasses of these ducklings averaged slightly less than the dietary levels.

Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology↗
USGS1979

Endrin versus 12-ketoendrin in birds and rodents

British workers showed that in rats the endrin metabolite, 12-ketoendrin, was five times as toxic as endrin, was probably the ultimate cause of death, and was the main form of endrin in the brain at death. In cows and rabbits, however, they detected little of this metabolite. They found none in hens. We found no 12-ketoendrin in birds of four orders that had been heavily exposed to or killed by endrin. We suggest that residue work with birds need not consider this compound unless birds have been eating endrin-killed rodents. White mice had much less 12-ketoendrin than rats, but had more endrin. In tests with spiked samples, 12-ketoendrin was successfully recovered from extracts by gel permeation chromatography, but not by florisil.

Book chapter↗
USGS1979

Organochlorine and mercury residues in Swainson's hawk eggs from the Pacific Northwest

Many raptorial species in the Pacific Northwest have not been studied from the viewpoint of pollutant contamination. The Swainson's Hawk ( Buteo swainsoni ) is particularly interesting because of its highly migratory characteristic; it apparently winters primarily in Argentina (Brown and Amadon 1968, Houston 1968). White and Cade (1977) and others have suggested Central America and South America as possible sources of pesticide contamination for wintering raptors from North America. The spraying of DDT in the Northwest in 1974 provided the opportunity to study several forest-dwelling raptors (Henny 1977); and in 1976, we made a special effort to collect a series of eggs of Swainson's Hawks from northeastern Oregon (some adjacent to the area sprayed with DDT in 1974) and southeastern Washington. This study was undertaken to determine organochlorine pesticide and other pollutant burdens in the Swainson's Hawk.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1978

Organochlorine residues and eggshell thinning in wood storks and anhingas

All 10 Wood Stork eggs collected at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in 1973 contained residues of DDE (geometric mean 4.0 ppm wet weight) and PCBs (1.2 ppm). Nine other organochlorines were found at lower frequencies in the eggs. Eggshells from the recent period were 8.9% thinner (P < 0.001) than pre-1947 samples; decrease in eggshell thickness was more closely correlated with DDE than other organochlorines and correlation of DDE and eggshell thickness approached significance (P = 0.115).....Anhinga eggs were collected at 7 localities; 45 of the 46 eggs analyzed contained DDE residues and 24 contained PCBs. Residues of other organochlorines were found less frequently. Shell thickness of recent eggs from Louisiana and Mississippi was significantly less (-7.5%; P < 0.05) than the mean for pre-1947 eggs, but there was no significant change in shell thickness of eggs from Florida. The change in clutch mean eggshell thickness was significantly negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with the concentration of DDE in the eggs.

The Wilson Bulletin↗
USGS1977

Residues of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls and autopsy data for bald eagles, 1973-74

Thirty-nine bald eagles found sick or dead in 13 States during 1969 and 1970 were analyzed for pesticide residues. Residues of DDE, dieldrin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's), and mercury were detected in all bald eagle carcasses; DDD residues were detected in 38; DDT, heptachlor epoxide, and dichlorobenzophenone (DCBP) were detected less frequently. Six eagles contained possible lethal levels of dieldrin in the brain, and one contained a lethal concentration of DDE (385 ppm) in the brain together with 235 ppm of PCB's. Autopsy revealed that 18 bald eagles were illegally shot; other causes of death were impact injuries, electrocution, emaciation, and infectious diseases.

Pesticides Monitoring Journal↗
USGS1976

Residues of organochlorines and heavy metals in ruddy ducks from the Delaware River, 1973

In December 1973, eight ruddy ducks killed in an oil spill on the Delaware River were collected to be analyzed for residues of environmental pollutants. Whole carcasses were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and livers were examined for lead, cadmium, and mercury. Residues of polychlorinated biphenyls and DDT and/or its metabolites were present in all carcasses. Dieldrin and hexachlorobenzene were present in seven of the eight samples. All livers contained detectable levels of lead, cadmium, and mercury.

Pesticides Monitoring Journal↗
USGS1975

Residues of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls and autopsy data for bald eagles, 1971-72

Thirty-seven bald eagles found sick or dead in 18 States during 1971-72 were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's). DDE and PCB's were detected in all bald eagle carcasses; 30 carcasses contained DDD and 28 contained dieldrin. Four eagles contained possibly lethal levels of dieldrin and nine eagles had been poisoned by thallium. Autopsies revealed that illegal shooting was the most common cause of mortality. Since 1964 when data were first collected, 8 of the 17 eagles obtained from Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida possibly died from dieldrin poisoning; all four specimens from Maryland and Virginia were from the Chesapeake Bay Tidewater area.

Pesticides Monitoring Journal↗