Fish & Wildlife Studies

This section contains information on the toxicity and impacts of rotenone on fish and wildlife.

Anderson, R.  1970.  Effects of rotenone on the zooplankton communities and a study of their recovery patterns in two mountain lakes in Alberta.  Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 27:1335-1356.  Read the entire article here: Anderson 1970

Billman, H., S. St-Hilaire, C. Kruse, T. Peterson and C.Peterson.  2011.  Toxicity of the piscicide rotenone to Columbia spotted frog and boreal toad tadpoles.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 140:919-927.  Read the entire article here: Billman et al. 2011

Billman, H., C. Kruse, S. St-Hilaire, T. Koel, J. Arnold and C. Peterson.  2012.  Effects of rotenone on Columbia spotted frogs Rana luteiventris during field applications in lentic habitats of Southwestern Montana.  North American Journal of Fisheries Management 32:781-789.  Read the entire article here: Billman et al. 2012

Bills, T., and L. Marking. 1987.  Rotenone – freshwater LC50 – rainbow trout and bluegills. Final Report January 23, 1987 by USFWS, National Fish Research Center, La Crosse, WI.  Read the entire report here: Bills and Marking (1986)

Bills, T.D., J.J. Rach, and L.L. Marking.  1986.  Toxicity of rotenone to developing rainbow trout.  Investigations in Fish Control 93.  USFWS, Washington, D.C.   Read entire report here: Rach et al. (1988)

Chandler, J., and L. Marking.  1982.  Toxicity of rotenone to selected aquatic invertebrates and frog larvae.  Progressive Fish Culturist 44:878-80.   to read the entire paper here: Chandler and Marking (1982)

Chapman, D., J. Fairchild, B. Carollo,  J. Deters, K. Feltz, and C. Witte.  2003.  An examination of the sensitivity of bighead carp and silver carp to antimycin a and rotenone.  USGS, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO.  Read the entire report here: Chapman et al. 2003

Cook., S., and R. Moore.  1969.  The effects of a rotenone treatment on the insect fauna of a California stream.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 98:539-544.  Read the entire article here: Cook and Moore 1969

Engstrom-Heg, R.  Kinetics of rotenone-potassium permanganate reactions as applied to the protection of the trout.  New York Fish and Game Journal 19:47-58.  Read the entire article here: Engstrom-Heg 1972

Engstrom-Heg, R., R. Colesante, and E. Silco.  1978.  Rotenone tolerances of stream-bottom insects.  New York Fish and Game Journal 25:31-41.  Read entire article here: Engstrom-Heg et al. 1978

Finlayson, B., Somer, W., and M. Vinson.  2009.  Rotenone toxicity to rainbow trout and several mountain stream insects.  Journal North American Fisheries Management 30:102-111.  Read entire paper here: Finlayson et al. 2009

Fracher, D., and H. Chambers.  1972.  Rotenone tolerance in mosquitofish.  Environmental Pollution 3:139-141.  Read the entire article here: Fabacher and Chambers 1972

Gilderhus, P.  1972.  Exposure times necessary for antimycin and rotenone to eliminate certain freshwater fish.  Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 29:199-202.  Read the entire article here: Gilderhus 1972

Gingerich, W., and J. Rach.  1985.  Uptake, biotransformation, and elimination of rotenone by bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus).  Aquatic Toxicology 6:179-196.  Read the entire article here: Gingerich and Rach 1985

Hudson, R., Tucker, R. and M. Haegele.  1984.  Handbook of toxicity of pesticides to wildlife (2nd edition).  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Resource Publication 153, Washington, D.C.   Read entire report here: Handbook of Toxicity of Pesticides to Wildlife (Hudson et al. 1984)

Kjærstad G,. J. Arnekleiv, and J. Speed.  2015.  Effects of three consecutive rotenone treatments on the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of the River Ogna, Central Norway.  River Research Applications, published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/rra.2873.  Read the entire article here: Kjærstad et al 2015

Mangum, F., and J. Madrigal.  1999.  Rotenone effects on aquatic invertebrates of the Strawberry, Utah: a five-ear summary.  Journal of Freshwater Ecology 14:125-135.  Read the entire article here: Mangum and Madrigal 1999

Marking, L.  1988.  Oral toxicity of rotenone to mammals.  Investigations in Fish Control 94.  USFWS, Washington D.C.  Read entire report here:  Rach et al. (1988)

Marking, L and T. Bills.  1976.  Toxicity of rotenone to fish in standardized laboratory tests.  Investigations in Fish Control 72.   USFWS, Washington, D.C. Read entire report here: Marking & Bills (1976)

McMillin, S. and B.J. Finlayson.  2008.  Chemical residues in water and sediment following rotenone application to Lake Davis, California 2007.  California Department of Fish and Game, OSPR Administrative Report 08-01, Rancho Cordova.    Read entire report here: McMillin and Finlayson 2008

Meadows, B.  1973.  Toxicity of rotenone to some species of coarse fish and invertebrates.  Journal Fish Biology 5:155-163. Read the entire article here: Meadows 1973

Melaas, C., K. Zimmer, M. Butler, and M. Hanson.  2001.  Effects of rotenone on aquatic invertebrate communities in prairie wetlands.  Hydrobiologia 459: 177-186.  Read the entire article here: Melaas et al. 2001

Neves, R.  1975.  Zooplankton recolonization of a lake cover treated with rotenone.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 104:390-393.  Read the entire article here: Neves 1975

Rach, J.J., T.D. Bills, and L.L. Marking. 1988. Acute and chronic toxicity of rotenone to Daphnia magna.  Investigations in Fish Control 92.  USFWS, Washington, D.C.  Read entire report here: Rach et al. (1988)

Recsetar, M., and S. Bonar.  2015.  Effectiveness of two commercial rotenone formulations in the eradication of Virile Crayfish Orconectes virilis.  North American Journal Fisheries Management 35: 616-620.  Read the entire article here: Recsetar and Bonar 2015

Vinson, M., and D. Vinson.  2007.  An analysis of the effects of rotenone on aquatic invertebrate assemblages in the Silver King Creek Basin, California.  Final Report June 2007 submitted to USFS, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Carson City, NV.  Read the entire report here: Vinson and Vinson 2007

Vinson, M., E. Dinger, and D. Vinson.  2010.  Piscicides and invertebrates: after 70 years, does anyone really know?  Fisheries 35(2):61-71.  Read the entire article here: Vinson et al. 2010

Whelan, J.  2002.  Aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring results of the 1995 and 1996 rotenone treatments of Manning Creek, Utah.  Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Publication Number 02-04, Salt Lake City.   Read entire report here: Whelen 2002