Commonly used agrochemicals (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) kill frogs outright when sprayed on fields even when used at recommended dosages, according to new research in Scientific Reports. Testing seven chemicals on European common frogs (Rana temporaria), the scientists found that all of them were potentially lethal to amphibians. In fact, two fungicides—Headline and Captain Omya—wiped […]
Tag: amphibians
Getting hugs from a toad
Unlike ducks that refuse to stand still, frogs and toads are good models for photographers visiting ponds. They usually hold their poses for several minutes. They don’t do it for us. It’s their strategy to be inconspicuous so nearby creatures might make the mistake of getting within the reach of their mouth or long, sticky […]
The sound of silence
. Silent Spring, the ground-breaking book by Rachel Carson on the negative effects of DDT and other pesticides, celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Carson’s genius, in part, was in personalizing a difficult and somewhat esoteric subject using a humble and ubiquitous example—nearly everyone, regardless of age, education or political leaning, could easily grasp the […]