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TechnoratiFertilisers Blamed As Researchers Solve Mystery of Deformed Frogs
American researchers claim to have answered the riddle of the deformed frogs that have been appearing in increasing numbers around the world.
Run-off from farmland drenched in fertilisers is behind the explosion in amphibians missing legs, or having extra legs and other deformities, according to the scientists.
Nitrogen and phosphorous from fertilisers are leaching into rivers, causing significant changes to the aquatic ecosystem. This prompts algae growth and increases numbers in the snail population, animals which play host to parasitic flatworms called trematodes. These parasites infect birds, snails and amphibian larvae, causing severe limb deformities and an increase in mortality.
"This is the first study to show that nutrient enrichment drives the abundance of these parasites, increasing levels of amphibian infections and subsequent malformations," said Pieter Johnson of Colorado University, who led the study.
These malformations include the growth of extra limbs, partly formed or missing limbs, skin webbing and bone defects. When examined, amphibians with these defects were often found also to suffer from life-threatening eye abnormalities and tumours.
Reports of these abnormal amphibians have risen sharply since the mid-1990s, when some Minnesota schoolchildren found a pond where more than half of the frogs had missing or extra legs. This has generated increasing concern from scientists and ecologists, who have since established that parasite infection is a major cause of these deformities.
Trematode parasites that affect amphibians have a series of host species. They can grow in snails and then become infectious when released. The parasites then infect tadpoles, forming cysts on new limbs. When the frogs are eaten by predators, they excrete the parasites back into the ecosystem.
With many of the causes of amphibian decline still poorly understood, this research, which appears in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, may be a major breakthrough. "Our results have broad ecological significance," said Mr Johnson.
Rapidly declining amphibian populations have been noted globally since the 1980s, and are now regarded as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity.
© 2007 The Independent
25 Comments so far
Show AllFOOD NOT LAWNS!
COCO
;-) Thank you!
SPRUCEWOLF
me too. well, not 50 years. half that though. loved your website. the photos are incredible.
Ron, You sound pretty angry, but your target seems misplaced. I haven't eaten meat in 50+ years (yes, fifty), and I would imagine you would find more vegans here than most sites on the web. It might be more effective to just state the facts about the ethics, and social and environmental impacts of meat production and speak to people with some respect for their intelligence and individuality.
KEM PATRICK
ha ha ha. we'll all be 'croaking' very soon if we don't get our act together. here's another joke fom another poster: how much methane does it take to destroy all life on this planet??? we are about to find out !!!
oh mercy mercy me, ah things are'nt what they used to be. (marvin gaye song)
That's right EZEFLTER. we had a frog on our patio last night and it croaked.
Gore/R.Redford, Green Party 2008
Nowhere to run.
Thanks to all you meat-eaters, there are huge feedlots in this country, many on the banks of the Mississippi, that produce mountains of manure. Rainfall drains it into the river, untreated. Untreated animal sewage dwarfs the treated human sewage. The meat industry is trashing the environment, yet it has the full support of most commondreamers who claim to be anti-corporate. Ha! You guys are anti-corporate until you're hungry, and then you join the corporate slaughterers. So what if your politics are leftist? Your daily eating habits support the far right. Their disrespect for the animal kingdom is quite similar to their disrespect for non-Americans or non-Christians. It all comes in the same package. Refraining from meat consumption is the single most powerful thing you as an individual can do to cast a vote in favor of environmentalism and against corporate greed and disrespect for life.
I wish everyone would mention it COCO, you did good.
DU may very well be a culprit here also, it has been used since the 1960s and DU WILL alter DNA and seriously disrupt genetic codes. The toads and such are among the first to show the ill effects.
Oh c'mon, "American researchers" who funded this study? Dow, Dupont, Exxon/Mobile?
I worked at a golf course and fertilizer was the least of worries.
Nitrogen and phosphorous are naturally occurring besides synthetic.
most dangerous....
Fungicides
Herbicides
Pesticides
Yes, the article left out that these are chemical fertilizers, and perhaps waste material from farm animals as well; not composted alfalfa, ocean water, rock powders, and other healthy, life-giving soil enhancements.
http://www.dreamingearth.net
Thank you, Treefrog for the great links regarding product safety!
CONSCIENCE
how long can it be before our own species is just as seriously crippled?
not long if iran is invaded and nuclear bombs and depleted uranium is used.
(sorry kem, someone had to mention it.)
Environmental Working Group has a great site for personal care products. You can find out what is in the products you use and if they are safe. This is not just cosmetics:
Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database
http://cosmeticdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1
Also: http://www.scorecard.org
is another good site.
There are over 200 commonly used chemicals identified in umbilical cord blood.
What we don't know, won't hurt us?
As andersdl points out, it's not just fertilizer from agriculture that is the problem. In addition, the problem is not just fertilizer. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has had oil development for over 50 years, and to my knowledge has never had any kind of fertilizer runoff. In a survey taken by USFWS in 2000, the Kenai refuge had a significant number of deformed frogs, 8.6%, compared to the 0-2% expected in wild populations.
http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/contaminants/pdf/frogfinal2000.pdf
http://www.audubon.org/campaign/arctic_report/toxic_drilling.html
Many of our household products and personal care products contain petroleum-derived chemicals. Definitely, buy organic foods for your own health and to avoid contributing to the market demand for fertilizer. It would be wise to avoid other petroleum-based products too.
"Food Guides for the Organically Inclined"
http://www.chycho.com/?q=node/1021
If fertilisers are having such a severe effect on amphibians and other species, it would be safe to assume that they will also have a severe effect on humans . As reports from scientists continue to warn us about the dangers of consuming from our tainted food supply, it is becoming crucial that we begin to consume organic foods. This is particularly true for our children who require essential vitamins and minerals for their developing bodies and minds.
To help in deciding which foods to avoid and which ones to consume, consider familiarizing yourself with the following two food guides:
The Produce Ranking Guide "was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005".
The True Food Shopping Guide provides an extensive list categorizing certain food groups based on their genetically engineered ingredients.
We have to be diligent in maintaining our health and making sure that we are consuming and producing the healthiest foods possible, especially for future generations that will have to deal with the consequences of what we are doing to our bodies and the environment.
We have to have a collective consciousness and STOP MOWING AND POISONING GRASS. Billions of dollars of industry money depend on us buying herbicides and pesticides and insuring that this barren monoculture stays in our yards. It is almost like an addiction. When I say why do you have to mow, I always get a response, well I dont know, I dont like to, but it's just something one does. We have not cut grass in 8 years adn we have replaced grass with perennials and trees. It is amazing how much biodiversity in terms of plants and animals we have. We want moles and frogs and mice in our yard. So do the cats! The lawn is an antiquated left over from the 50s. It's time to say no more grass, more habitat.
A study concerning the disappearing amphibians and nitrogen-rich water, etc., came out a few years ago. It is caused by both chemical fertilizers and the run-off from manure.
Yes, it's not just farms but golf courses and lawns that are all contributing to it.
PS: We had good evidence of all these problems from Rachel Carson and the enlightenment taking place during the JFK administration -- a revolution was in the making to stop pollution of the planet . . . .
but it was JFK who was stopped --
Wake up, America!!!
The first paragraph of this article blames farmland for this problem. Although farmland runoff contributes to this problem, golf courses, private residences, and other sources are also significant contributors to this problem. Think about that the next time you tee off or spread Weed n' Feed on your lawn.
I'd like to turn some of these politicians into two-headed beasts. Then again they're already two-faced so it wouldn't make a big difference.
These are all petroleum based fertilizers --
NOR is any fecal matter to be consider "fertilizer" -- !!!!
Buy organic foods as often as you can --
How long can it be before our own species is just as seriously crippled????
last night, CNN ran a short piece showing a two headed turtle with four front legs and two rear legs, their heads faced in the opposite directions. Since turtles breathe through their butts, I wondered how they were making out and which one of the two had the strongest front legs.