Study shows pesticide's insidious effect on food chain
01-21-2009
Malathion, used to kill insects and mosquitoes, affects interactions within food chains, scientists learn. They added seemingly harmless levels to ponds holding tadpoles. Concentration killed most of zooplankton, which let phytoplankton bloom, depriving periphyton (tadpole food) of sunlight. Tadpoles went hungry, thus weren't mature enough to hop away by the time the ponds dried, so they died. And: Weedkiller linked to frog decline (click 'See also).
Read the story at Environmental Science & Technology
Tags: American Chemical Society, amphibians, Atlanta Zoo, Carlos Davidson, Christine Bishop, ecosystem, Environment Canada, food chain, herbicide, Joseph Mendelson, leopard frogs, malathion, Nicole Diecks, periphyton, pesticide, phytoplankton, Rick Relyea, San Francisco State University, Science and Technology Branch, sublethal exposure, tadpoles, University of Pittsburgh, wood frogs, zooplankton
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