Sex-Changing Herbicide Makes Amphibians Sick, Too
Sex-Changing Herbicide Makes Amphibians Sick, Too
by Brandon Keim
Atrazine is receiving lots of attention for turning male frogs into girls, but that’s not all the common herbicide can do. It also weakens amphibian immune systems, leaving the fragile creatures vulnerable to disease.
Though less obvious than gender bending, immunosuppression could also play a part in the worldwide decline of amphibians, which have porous skin and easily absorb chemicals from rain, groundwater and even water vapor.
“Numerous studies have documented the effects of environmental pollutants on the amphibian immune system. Nearly all of these studies suggest that amphibians are particularly sensitive,” wrote Tyrone Hayes, a University of California, Berkeley biologist, in a paper published in the March 15 Journal of Experimental Biology. “In particular, the widespread herbicide atrazine impairs immune function and increases disease rates.”
Hayes is also an author of a March 1 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study on the developmental changes wrought in male frogs by groundwater atrazine concentrations regularly found in the United States, where approximately 80 million pounds of the herbicide are used every year. The frogs had low levels of sperm and testosterone; some even produced estrogen, developed female reproductive organs and were ultimately impregnated by their former gender mates.
The findings are disturbing, but atrazine’s effects don’t end there. As described in the JEB paper, a large body of scientific literature describes how atrazine drives down white cell counts and turns off immune system-regulating genes. Atrazine also suppresses immune function in snails, which often carry amphibian-infesting parasites, and feeds the algae on which snails live.
It’s a perfect storm of infection: atrazine makes amphibians more vulnerable to disease, and carriers of disease more common.
The best-known amphibian killer, the chytrid fungus, has killed 95 percent of all frogs in Colombia and Panama, and driven 30 species in the Atelopus genus to extinction — and it was only identified in 1993. However, according to Hayes, chytrid is only the most apparent amphibian affliction. Others may go unnoticed because they don’t kill the fragile creatures, but damage their health just enough to prevent populations from sustaining themselves. About 70 percent of amphibian populations around the world are now in decline.
Atrazine, which is scheduled for review by the Environmental Protection Agency after being declared safe by the Bush-era EPA, isn’t the only potential chemical culprit. Many common pesticides and herbicides have also been linked to amphibian immune malfunction. But as bad as other chemicals may be, Hayes considers atrazine — which can travel up to 600 miles in groundwater — the worst.
“It’s so common, so mobile and persistent, and so active at low levels,” he said. “But there may be chemicals out there just as bad, only we don’t have data on them.”
Love & Light,
♥Angel Love♥
SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH THE ORDER OF NATURE??? IT IS A SHAME!!!
good blog ! i did a blog on atrazine [different one than this article] on m space last year, but m space spaced it, along with many other blogs.. oh well 🙂 here is more info on frogs : [ there are many links in the articles, but don’t know why they don’t work when copy n pasting.. oh well well well ! :):):) }
http://www.savethefrogs.com/threats/index.html
Threats to Frogs
Habitat Destruction | Pollution & Pesticides | Climate Change | Invasive Species | Over-Harvesting | Infectious Diseases
Introduction
Amphibians are without a doubt the most endangered group of animals on the planet: nearly 1/3 of the world’s 6,485 species are on the brink of extinction. There are six major factors negatively affecting amphibians, and all are due to human activity: habitat destruction, infectious diseases, pollution & pesticides, climate change, invasive species, and over-harvesting for the pet and food trades.
To make matters worse, many of these threats act in concert with one another to create synergistic (magnified) effects. For instance, perhaps exposure to either a particular pesticide or pathogen would not kill affected frogs. However, if the frogs became infected by the chytrid fungus after a pesticide had compromised their ability to mount a sufficient immune response, the population may experience a lethal disease outbreak, and be driven to local extinction. If a significant portion of the species’ remaining habitat had already been logged, invaded by introduced species, or had become unusable due to altered rainfall patterns, the species could be on a rapid path toward global extinction.
Unfortunately, though national parks and preserves are an integral part of conserving amphibian populations, they are no longer sufficient in and of themselves, as airborne pollutants, climate change and infectious diseases can easily cross any boundaries.
A significant amount of effort will be required to alleviate the current threats to amphibians. This will require scientists, lawyers, educators, media, and an informed public that votes for and supports politicians and businesses who are committed to the environment.
Find out how you can help. http://www.savethefrogs.com/index.html
Pesticides
Pesticides (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc…) are toxic chemicals that generally undergo little to no testing on amphibians prior to their being approved for use. Unfortunately, the law of gravity has it that many of these pesticides end up in waterways, where amphibians live and breed. Amphibians have permeable skin that is highly absorbent, making them extremely susceptible to pollutants and pesticides.
An abundance of scientific literature has demonstrated the negative effects of an array of commonly used pesticides on amphibians: delayed metamorphosis, immunosuppresion, hermaphroditism, sex reversal, and outright mortality. There are over 18,000 registered pesticides in the USA. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, 200 million pounds of pesticides are applied each year in California alone.
Many pesticides are applied by spraying, and a portion of the chemicals inevitably get caught in the wind and lifted up to the clouds, where they can be carried for hundreds of kilometers from their source — often getting deposited on mountaintops in once pristine national parks and preserves. Populations of the critically endangered mountain yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa that live downwind of highly agricultural areas in California’s Central Valley have disappeared at a significantly higher rate than other populations, and the species is on the verge of extinction.
http://www.savethefrogs.com/actions/pesticides/index.html
Atrazine: The 21st Century’s DDT
It turns male frogs into females and eighty million pounds of it are used in the USA each year. Need we say more? Learn all about this horrible pesticide here.
Roundup
Roundup (also sold as Touchdown Total) is lethal to gray treefrog and leopard frog tadpoles, and most likely a host of other as yet untested frog species. Roundup is one of the most commonly applied herbicides in the USA; it’s produced by Monsanto, the same folks who gave us Agent Orange. Over half of the DNA found in frogs is also found in humans, so if these pesticides kill frogs, imagine what they do to us!
Chlorothalonil
Chlorothalonil is the most commonly used synthetic fungicide in the USA, commonly applied to peanuts, tomatoes and potatoes. It is also extremely common in Costa Rica and tropical nations, where it is used on bananas and other crops. At concentrations commonly found in areas where the fungicide is applied, Chlorothalonil causes 100% mortality to tadpoles of Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis), Squirrel Treefrogs (Hyla squirella) and Green Treefrogs (Hyla cinerea) within 24 hours of exposure.
Additional Reading:
The Fungicide Chlorothalonil is Nonlinearly Associated with Corticosterone Levels, Immunity, and Mortality in Amphibians. McMahon et al. 2011. Supplemental Info here.
Frog, Chemical, Water, You
The award-winning documentary by Jennifer Grace. Watch it!
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A frog poem by 6th grader Austin Almanza
From the 1st Annual Frog Poetry Contest
These frogs they’re saying
“Stop using pesticides.
Look what it’s done to us.
We’re mutated because of that stuff!”
Pesticide Definition
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, a pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. Though often misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the term pesticide also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used to control pests. Pesticides also include plant regulators, defoliants and desiccants.
Pesticide Alternatives
“I have a few ideas for safer pesticides/alternatives. If you want to get rid of grasses between your stones/bricks (ie patches of grass) you can use boiling water. It breaks down the cell walls and kills the plant really quickly (Pour it over the roots). I’ve used this for quite a while, for example to get rid of the grass that grows in front of my back door (It got so high I couldn’t shut the door!). You can use Neem oil (Azadirachta indica), which is commercially available and is a good product in some areas (used in cooking in India). It is a very effective insecticide(kills larvae)/insect repellent. You can also use sesame oil for this. Just rub them on the leaves of your plants and you won’t have scale bugs etc. You can also take a diluted soap mixture (very diluted: 5%) and rub that on your plants (works on squash too) and it’ll keep insects away.”
— University of South Florida Ph.D. Candidate Taegan McMahon
Do you have any other thoughts on alternatives to pesticides? If so, please let us know!
Additional Reading
The Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North
America in 2010 submitted this COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY
AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF against the US Environmental Protection Agency seeking an order declaring that EPA has violated Section
7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act by failing to undergo consultation with the Service concerning pesticide impacts on endangered and threatened species in the United States. The plaintiffs seek an order compelling EPA to initiate and complete this consultation process.
Learn about other threats to frogs
Habitat Destruction
Chytridiomycosis & other infectious diseases
Climate Change
Invasive Species
Over-Harvesting
LOVE FROGS *!!*!!*~**~**!****~*~**~**~*~*
:love:
I had a dream right.. hahhahhaha… talking about this.. I went like all over the country.. and was at these like organic places and .. undercover .. they were not organic at all????? All fake.. had just as mucha crapp in them and on them as the others???? Hug’s and love your articles and writes!!
It saddens me when I think my grandchildren and their children will most likely not even get to see green frogs, and a lot of other animals. We have a lot of green frogs here in Australia, and we try and protect them.We have to do that starting with teaching our children NOW, and maybe things will change for the better, even if it’s a small change, it’s better than none.
Keep writing your Blogs, the more we read the more we understand.
Thank You
Blessings:
Perhaps the greatest way to keep the world population from growing beyond the capacity of the Earth’s ability to produce more food indirectly, is by sterilizing those who consume it…..and a good way to do this indirectly is by using pesticides on produce. It may well be a case of the left hand not letting the right hand know what it is doing….perhaps.
RC
Technology can be developed which does not harm the Earth, or poison the air, water and land. Only greed prevents, and a lack of imagination