Abstract

Impact of Pesticides on Amphibians: A Review

Amphibians (cold-blooded vertebrates) show more effect to pesticides than any other vertebrate group from terrestrial as well as aquatic environment. Risk for pesticide exposure increases due to permeable skin for water and ions. Contamination may cause alteration in their behavior. The goal of this review is to assess the risk of pesticides exposure to the juveniles and adult frog. The main emphasis is on dermal exposure of pesticides by directly spray over them or by indirectly spray in aquatic and terrestrial habitat. The reason for the sensitivity to climatic change is that they spend most of their life in aquatic environment and spend minimum life in terrestrial environment. Almost 600-amphibian population is reported in Western Europe and 53% of them is declined in the beginning of 1950s. Chronic effect of low dose on particular pesticides may lethal as compared to the acute exposure. Chemicals which are used to make pesticides are very dangerous for growth and reproduction and cause mutation in developing tadpole. Oral exposure of DDT and Malathion may lead to the immunosuppressive effect. Several pesticides show influence on meta morphological stages and prevent larval development, which reduces the rate of growth in amphibian and decline their population. Further studies require to examine high and low level of pesticide. Further investigation is needed to reduce the population decline of amphibian globally.


Author(s): Atika Islam and Muhammad Faheem Malik

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