Research Product

Plankton plays an important role in the introduction of pesticide contamination into the estuarine food web. Filter-feeding animals further concentrate these residues and immobilize significant amounts of DDT in benthic deposits where it becomes available to detritus feeders. DDT residues may be fatal to predators at different trophic levels depending on the amount ingested at one time. It is probable that higher death rates and significant losses in productivity exist undetected in estuarine fauna contaminated with DDT.