Pesticide

It is known that amphibian populations are declining at alarming rates worldwide. Their population decline has been linked to various factors such as UV radiation, emerging diseases and pesticide exposure. Pesticide exposure however, is of particular importance due to their high potential for toxicity and widespread environmental contamination. They are commonly introduced into local water systems through runoff from agricultural fields. According to the National Water Quality Inventory, agricultural runoff is the leading cause of water pollution in rivers and lakes in the United States. Because many species of amphibians have habitats that coincide with agricultural areas, there is a heightened probability for contamination of their habitat through runoff. While pesticides increase agricultural profits, they also lead to high amphibian mortality and should have improved regulations.

All amphibians have high skin permeability, which is a key factor in connecting pesticides to their decline. This physiological feature can be linked to the ways in which gas exchanges occur within their circulatory system. Oxygen molecules first diffuse onto the moist surface of the integument. The oxygen molecules are then picked up by red blood cells within capillaries, which run close to the skins surface. The oxygen-saturated blood is then circulated throughout the body before being expelled similarly to how it was absorbed. Because of this high skin permeability, it is also much easier for toxins, such as pesticides, to enter and accumulate within the amphibian’s body (Association of Zoos and Aquariums).

Once pesticides have been integrated into the amphibian, they may lead to malformation, decreased fitness even death depending on the kind...

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...sticides, it is not, to require better regulations and enforcement. It however does not go without saying that pesticides do generate better agricultural products for our consumption and power the economy. But, populations of amphibians continue to dwindle and nothing has changed in the EPAs regulation of pesticides, including those mentioned. The world is quickly loosing vast amounts of biodiversity in the name of secular bureaucratic processes. The perspective of ecologists and biologists continue to be ignored even in the wake of possible extinctions. If new rules are not put into effect and done so soon, there will undoubtedly be great consequences not seen since the days of the passenger pigeon. Once the world looses a species, no form of legislation can bring them back, which is why passing new regulations now is imperative for the present and future.