Roundup kills frogs as well as tadpoles

[Guest guest]

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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As Monsanto's Roundup Ready GM crops encourage an ever increasing

application of the herbicide, and amphibians continue to decline

worldwide...

 

" The most striking result from the experiments was that a chemical

designed to kill plants killed 98 percent of all tadpoles within three

weeks and 79 percent of all frogs within one day " - University of

Pittsburgh researcher, Rick Relyea

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http://www.umc.pitt.edu:591/m/FMPro?-db=ma & -lay=a & -format=d.html & id=2115 & -Find

 

University of Pittsburgh,

 

Roundup® kills frogs as well as tadpoles, Pitt biologist finds

 

Product is lethal even at lower concentrations; soil does not lessen

its effects

 

As amphibians continue to mysteriously disappear worldwide, a

University of Pittsburgh researcher may have found more pieces of the

puzzle.

Elaborating on his previous research, Pitt assistant professor of

biological sciences Rick Relyea has discovered that Roundup®, the most

commonly used herbicide in the world, is deadly to tadpoles at lower

concentrations than previously tested; that the presence of soil does not

mitigate the chemical's effects; and that the product kills frogs in

addition to tadpoles.

 

In two articles published in the August 1 issue of the journal

Ecological Applications, Relyea and his doctoral students Nancy

Schoeppner and

Jason Hoverman found that even when applied at concentrations that are

one-third of the maximum concentrations expected in nature, Roundup®

still killed up to 71 percent of tadpoles raised in outdoor tanks.

 

Relyea also examined whether adding soil to the tanks would absorb the

Roundup® and make it less deadly to tadpoles. The soil made no

difference: After exposure to the maximum concentration expected in

nature,

nearly all of the tadpoles from three species died.

 

Although Roundup® is not approved for use in water, scientists have

found that the herbicide can wind up in small wetlands where tadpoles

live due to inadvertent spraying during the application of Roundup®.

 

Studying how Roundup® affected frogs after metamorphosis, Relyea

found that the recommended application of Roundup® Weed and Grass

Killer,

a formulation marketed to homeowners and gardeners, killed up to 86

percent of terrestrial frogs after only one day.

 

" The most striking result from the experiments was that a chemical

designed to kill plants killed 98 percent of all tadpoles within three

weeks and 79 percent of all frogs within one day, " Relyea wrote.

 

Previous studies have determined that it is Roundup®'s surfactant

(polyethoxylated tallowamine, or POEA, an " inert " ingredient added to

make

the herbicide penetrate plant leaves) and not the active herbicide

(glyphosate) that is lethal to amphibians.

 

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Pitt's

McKinley Fund, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Science.