Abstract
The toxicity of malathion and its major hydrolysis products to the eastern mudminnow,Umbra pygmaea, was determined by utilizing 4-day static toxicity tests and 14-day continuous flow tests. Four-day LC50 values in mg/l were as follows: malathion 0.24; dimethylphosphorodithioic acid 17; diethyl fumarate 8.5; 2-mercaptodiethylsuccinate 47 and dimethylphosphorothionic acid 26. The basic hydrolysis products proved to be more toxic than the acid hydrolysis products and 14-day continuous flow tests were conducted only on malathion and the basic hydrolysis products. Calculations of field application rates for the pesticide reviewed in light of the toxicity results suggest that only the parent compound, malathion, poses an environmental hazard to the mudminnow.
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Contribution No. 635 from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062. This investigation was supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service Research Grant ES-00016-02 to Rutgers University.
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Bender, M.E., Westman, J.R. The toxicity of malathion and its hydrolysis products to the Eastern Mudminnow,Umbra pygmaea (DeKay). Chesapeake Science 17, 125–128 (1976). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351055
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351055