| | Accession Number | 5003442 |
| | Title | Comparative developmental toxicity assessment of a mosquito larvicide (GB- 1111) on |
| | bird eggs |
| | Project Description | GB-1111 (Golden Bear Oil) is used extensively as a larvicide by California Mosquito Abatement |
| | Districts (MAD) and it has been recommended by MAD for use on National Wildlife Refuges as a |
| | component of an integrated pest control formula for mosquito suppression. GB-1111 is a |
| | petroleum distillate that is used as a last-resort larvicide when the larvae pupate before mosquito |
| | abatement personnel can treat the site with other materials. There are few published studies of the |
| | non-target effects of GB-1111 and the product label warns that GB-1111 is toxic to fish and other |
| | aquatic organisms. Since the avian embryo is contained in a virtually closed system, it is |
| | subjected to a situation environmentally similar to a fish in a small pond, with only limited |
| | recourse to protect itself from exposure to xenobiotics including petroleum compounds, |
| | pesticides, and industrial effluents. Certain chemicals that have been toxic to fish have also proven |
| | to be quite toxic to bird embryos. Albers and Heinz (1983) previously reported on a petroleum |
| | derived mosquito larvicide, FLIT-MLO (a straight-chain or branched alkane product), that was toxic |
| | to mallard embryos when applied externally to eggs at three times the maximum recommended |
| | application rate. GB-1111 is a cycloalkane product, hence toxicity of the hydrocarbons should be |
| | greater than those of FLIT-MLO. Therefore, this study is designed to evaluate the potential |
| | embryotoxicity of this product when applied externally to three species of bird eggs, including |
| | bobwhite, mallards , and red-winged blackbirds. This evaluation is being done in conjunction with |
| | field evaluations (A.K. Miles, BRD) examining effects on invertebrate food base, ducklings, and |
| | resident species. |
| | Keywords | bird eggs, contaminants, embryotoxicity, gb-1111, hydrocarbons, mosquito larvicide, national |
| | wildlife refuge, reproduction, san francisco bay, toxicity, |
| | Principal | David J Hoffman, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: david_hoffman@usgs.gov; Peter H |
| | Investigators | Albers, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: pete_albers@usgs.gov; Keith A Miles, |
| | California Science Center: keith_miles@usgs.gov; |
Return to SIS Projects Listing
