# Pesticide effects on frogs---experiment



## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Found this from a tip-off from Feeds, from ScienceDirect. 

We are all familiar about amphibian decline with pesticides, but this illustrates how it affects individual anurans in a controlled experiment. 
This understanding led me to dig into the 'big name nurseries' who supply Lowe's and Home Depot, e.g., to determine that some systemic pesticides used in the plants can take up to 3 months to be eliminated from plants, and it would be good to let a tank cycle for that long before adding microfauna/frogs. Those pesticide were more related to vining tropical plants, episcias, and pest-prone species. Bromeliads were relatively pest-free and were treated with a snail killer, not a systemic, so there was no need to recommend a 3-month waiting period.
Otherwise, if you know the source and it's a frogger with an indoor grow tank and no pesticides, simpler QT techniques for plants will reduce any possible risk to the frog's DNA. 
I have always stood by the axiom that the more subtle damage does the most long-term damage as it is not readily detectable and treatable as one whose effects are apparent---it's like the difference between skin cancer (which can be seen) and internal organ cancer (which is more difficult to detect, except that you see other symptoms). This illustrates that more readily. 



> Low Concentrations Of Pesticides Can Become Toxic Mixture For Amphibians
> ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2008)
> 
> Study author Rick Relyea, an associate professor of biological sciences in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, exposed gray tree frog and leopard frog tadpoles to small amounts of the 10 pesticides that are widely used throughout the world. Relyea selected five insecticides-carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, endosulfan, and malathion-and five herbicides-acetochlor, atrazine, glyphosate, metolachlor, and 2,4-D. He administered the following doses: each of the pesticides alone, the insecticides combined, a mix of the five herbicides, or all 10 of the poisons.
> ...


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