Mammals and Birds

Acute oral toxicities of carbofuran to various species of mammals ranged from 2000.0 xg/kg BW in mice to 34,500.0 xg/kg BW in rats. Mammals were generally more resistant than birds to acute biocidal properties of carbofuran. 

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According to EPA, "The maximum acceptable concentrations of PCB in any sample consisting of a homogenate of 25 or more whole fish of any species that is consumed by fish-eating birds and mammals, within the size range consumed is 0.5 mg/kg on a net weight basis."... 

Birds and mammals are endothermic vertebrates. Not coincidentally, they are the only vertebrates with unique external body coverings—feathers and hair, respectively. For both groups, these body coverings evolved as an adaptation to reduce heat loss. A bird s feathers were originally adaptive because they helped keep the animal warm, not because they helped it to fly. 

Jurassic 195 Myr Two large continents form Laurasia (north) and Gondwana (south). Dinosaurs diversify first birds and mammals evolve gymnosperms dominate terrestrial vegetation ammonites radiate into diverse forms... 

FIGU RE 2.10 Plasma A-esterase activities of birds and mammals. Activities were originally measured as nanomoles product per milliliter of serum per minute, but they have been converted to relative activities (male rat = 1) and plotted on a log scale. Each point represents a mean value for a single species. Substrates , paraoxon , pirimiphos-methyl oxon. Vertical hues indicate limits of detection, and all points plotted to the left of them are for species in which no activity was detected. (Activities in the male rat were 61 4 and 2020 130 for paraoxon and pirimiphos-methyl oxon, respectively.) (From Walker 1994a in Hodgson and Levi 1994.)... 

The organophosphorons insecticides dimethoate and diazinon are mnch more toxic to insects (e.g., housefly) than they are to the rat or other mammals. A major factor responsible for this is rapid detoxication of the active oxon forms of these insecticides by A-esterases of mammals. Insects in general appear to have no A-esterase activity or, at best, low A-esterase activity (some earlier stndies confnsed A-esterase activity with B-esterase activity) (Walker 1994b). Diazinon also shows marked selectivity between birds and mammals, which has been explained on the gronnds of rapid detoxication by A-esterase in mammals, an activity that is absent from the blood of most species of birds (see Section 23.23). The related OP insecticides pirimiphos methyl and pirimiphos ethyl show similar selectivity between birds and mammals. Pyrethroid insecticides are highly selective between insects and mammals, and this has been attributed to faster metabolic detoxication by mammals and greater sensitivity of target (Na+ channel) in insects. 

As explained in Section 5.2.3, p,p -DDE is much more persistent in food chains than either p,p -DDT or p,p -DDD, and dnring the 1960s when DDT was still extensively used, it was often the most abundant of the three compounds in birds and mammals found or sampled in the field. Since the widespread banning of DDT, very little of the pesticides has been released into the environment, and p,p -DDE is by far the most abnndant DDT residue found in biota. While discussing the ecological effects of DDT and related compounds, effects on population numbers will be considered before those on popnlation genetics (gene frequencies). 

There have been a nnmber of estimates of bioconcentration factors for total PCBs in aqnatic species following long-term exposure to PCB mixtures (EHC 140). Values for both invertebrates and hsh have been extremely variable, ranging from values below 1 to many thonsands. Bioaccnmnlation factors for birds and mammals for different Aroclors have indicated only limited degrees of bioaccumulation from food, for example, 6.6 and 14.8 for the whole carcasses of big brown bats Eptesicus fuscus) and white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), respectively (see Environmental Health Criteria 140). 

Eroschenko, V.P. (1981). Estrogenic activity of the insecticide chlordecone in the reproductive-tract of birds and mammals. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 8, 731-742. 

Koeman, J.H. (Ed.) (1972). Side Effects of Persistent Pesticides and Other Chemicals on Birds and Mammals in the Netherlands. Report by the Working Group on Birds and Mammals of the Committee TNO for Research on Side Effects of Pesticides. TNO-Nieuws 27 527-632. 

The dietary importance of benthic invertebrates to many species of fish, birds, and mammals (Vander Zanden and Vadeboncoenr 2002) signifies their importance in the trophic transfer of MeHg and their potential relevance as biological indicators. Some benthic invertebrates (e g., oysters, clams, shrimp, crabs, and crayfish) are consumed by humans, providing a direct pathway for exposure to MeHg. In the United States, shellfish rank below fish as a source of dietary MeHg in the human population (NRC 2000 Schober et al. 2003). 

Species of birds and mammals vary in distribution and habitat preferences and of course can only... 

Andres K. (1970). Anatomy and ultrastructure of the olfactory bulb in fish, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals. In Taste and Smell in Vertebrates (Wolstenholme G. and Knight J., eds.). J A Churchill, London, pp. 177-193. 

Bacteria, fungi, and algae Insects, birds, and mammals... 

In the organism tissues, fatty acids are continually renewed in order to provide not only for the energy requirements, but also for the synthesis of multicomponent lipids (triacylglycerides, phospholipids, etc.). In the organism cells, fatty acids are resynthetized from simpler compounds through the aid of a supramolecular multienzyme complex referred to as fatty acid synthetase. At the Lynen laboratory, this synthetase was first isolated from yeast and then from the liver of birds and mammals. Since in mammals palmitic acid in this process is a major product, this multienzyme complex is also called palmitate synthetase. 

It is a gram-negative, nonsporing, oval-shaped bacterium. It is primarily a zoonotic disease of birds and mammals, with humans as incidental hosts. Often seen in hamsters, guinea pigs, and chinchillas. It has also been associated with enterocolitis and diarrhea in young sheep at pasture that are debilitated from factors such as starvation and cold weather. This is a biosafety level 2 agent. 

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