> Roundup(r) Kills Frogs As Well As Tadpoles, Pitt
> Biologist Finds
> 
> Herbicide is lethal even at lower concentrations;
> soil does not lessen its
> effects
> 
> PITTSBURGH-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(r), 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(r) 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(r) 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(r) 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(r).
> 
> Studying how Roundup(r) affected frogs after
> metamorphosis, Relyea found
> that the recommended application of Roundup(r) 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(r)'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.
> 
> ### 
> 
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