The most commonly used pesticide on farms might be causing frog populations to decline. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:
Transcript
The most commonly used pesticide on farms might be causing frog populations to decline. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham explains:
A new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that Atrazine affects the sexual development of certain non-native laboratory frogs. The peer-reviewed study shows that in levels of Atrazine far below what’s commonly found in water, even rainwater, in agricultural areas, sexual development of males is impaired. The study’s principal author, Tyrone Hayes, says new studies, not yet peer reviewed, also indicate the same thing is happening in native frogs in the lab and in the wild.
“We do have reason to believe that the effects are
observed in other species at similar doses, and
we do have reason to believe that similar abnormalities detected in the wild are associated with Atrazine exposure.”
The researchers say their studies don’t explore whether the Atrazine exposure has any effect on humans.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.