tory (Figure 1) so as to develop anticipatory rather than documentary infor- 

 mation concerning effects of pesticides on fish and fish-food organisms 

 (Grant and Schoettger, 1972). 



High priority at the laboratory is given to research in four topical 

 areas: 



1) Agents developed for use in fishery habitats (control of 

 aquatic weeds, algae, slime, mosquitos, mollusks, and fish); 



2) agents intended for use on land and water adjacent to or 

 contiguous with fishery habitats (forest insect control, 

 ditch bank management, forest fire retardants); 



3) agents manufactured in large volume and used widely 

 (selected agricultural and industrial chemicals); and 



4) known contaminants of wild and propagated fish and their 

 food and habitat. 



The investigational divisions outlined in Figure 1 are intended to re- 

 flect the kinds of studies that should be considered in the development and 

 registration of pesticides. The principal systems are ordered from rela- 

 tively routine and short-term studies to more complex and lengthy investi- 

 gations. All or parts of the framework may be used depending on the extent 

 and applicability of biological and chemical data already available, 

 intended use pattern(s), and target pest(s). 



The framework is designed around fish as the primary test animal, but 

 it is also compatible with parallel investigations essential to antici- 

 pating pesticide effects on fish-food organisms. In all studies the 

 investigator must include sufficient test animals and replications to 

 estimate statistical significance of results. Sources, general physical 

 conditions, disease treatments, and holding conditions (such as photo- 

 period, diet and feeding rate, water characteristics) of test animals 

 should be reported. Whenever possible, test animals, diets, and holding 

 waters should be chemically analyzed to document pre-exposure of test ani- 

 mals to pesticides or other contaminants. Analytical chemistry reports 

 should document results for reagent blanks, limits of sensitivity and de- 

 tection, reproducibility, recovery efficiency for extracts, and sample 

 variability. 



The investigational sections within the research framework are divided 

 into principal systems and support systems; consequently, researchers in 

 two or more research divisions generally integrate their efforts to achieve 

 common goals. Typical investigations generated by this framework include 

 some 11 types of studies: 



(1) Acute toxicity, and variations among species and water types; 



(2) teratogenicity; 



167 



