Acute oral toxicity and repellency of 933 chemicals to house and deer mice.

Five individual bioassay repellency or toxicity variables were estimated or determined for deer.mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and house mice (Mus musculus) under laboratory conditions. ALD's (Approximate Lethal Doses) or LDs0's of 230 chemicals to deer mice are presented, as are food reduction (FR) values (3-day feeding test as a 2.0% treatment rate) for white wheat seeds (Triticum aestivum) for 696 chemicals and Douglas fir seeds (Pseudotsuga menziesii) for 81 chemicals. A similar repellency evaluation (REP) using a 5-day test with white wheat seeds at a 2.0% treatment rate was conducted with house mice and the results for 347 chemicals are presented. These toxicity and repellency data should be useful to those desiring to predict the potential for acute toxicity in wild mammals following exposure to a wide variety of chemicals. A calculation of the daily chemical dose ingested in mg/kg/day during the wheat test on deer mice and its resultant effects on mortality are also presented for most of the 696 chemicals. This calculated value, when used along with the ALD or LDs0, should permit a rough estimate of the potential subacute toxicity of any tested chemical on wild mammals for which both types of data are available. A series of publications summarizing the results of approximately 25 years of chemical research conducted by the Denver Wildlife Research Center (DWRC), on wild or domestic birds and mammals has been initiated. The first publication presented wild avian toxicity or repellency results for 998 chemicals (Schafer et al. 1983). This paper will present similar data for 933 chemicals tested on wild deer mice and white (house) mice. Our purpose is to make available these generally unpublished test results so that they can be referenced or used by the various public, private, and governmental groups that may require this information.