Agricultural contaminants in amphibian breeding ponds: Occurrence, risk and correlation with agricultural land use
T. Goessens a, ⁎, S. De Baere a , A. Deknock b , N. De Troyer b , R. Van Leeuwenberg c , A. Martel c , F. Pasmans c , P. Goethals b , L. Lens d , P. Spanoghe e , L. Vanhaecke f,g , S. Croubels
This article studies 5 different amphibian breeding ponds for the contamination of agrochemicals. They found 80 different compounds of heavy metals and pesticides. These compounds exceeded the concentrations lethal to D. magna and the grey treefrog H.versicolor. These compounds were not listed on the European watch list and the article suggests these would be good candidates to conduct longer studies. They also found a few azole fungicides and while they did not reach lethal levels they express concern for the sub lethal effects that would lead to a decrease in survivability in amphibians in these ponds. They also suggest some solutions to reduce runoff from agriculture, a good addition as it seems most just show a problem with no solutions. They also found that concentrations of these compounds varied based on the time of year the pond was checked, most likely due to the application of these compounds in agriculture only during a season. This article helps us understand a potential cause for the amphibian decline in recent years and allows for the government to regulate and reduce these compounds in amphibian breeding ponds. Acquiring more knowledge of how we are harming the environment and presenting solutions to reduce damage is very useful for amphibian conservation.
Goessens, T., De Baere, S., Deknock, A., De Troyer, N., Van Leeuwenberg, R., Martel, A., Pasmans, F., Goethals, P., Lens, L., Spanoghe, P., Vanhaecke, L., & Croubels, S. (2022). Agricultural contaminants in amphibian breeding ponds: Occurrence, risk and correlation with agricultural land use. Science of The Total Environment, 806, 150661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150661
2 comments:
Interesting article! Did they comment on what amphibian species breed in these ponds and/or whether these species show any impacts of this contamination?
Nice article, I also wish that the government would incorporate more into protecting amphibians since they place a huge role in the ecosystem. One cool thing I've recently found out that was on a documentary on Netflix, was that in forests' that have elephants, frogs wait for the elephant to make a foot print which causes mud and a lot of water to seep into the hole. Those frogs that wait use this as a breeding pond. I truly feel that with our knowledge of pesticides and runoff there shouldn't be any near habitats especially for amphibians and sea creatures.
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