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Article: Threat to frogs found. (USA).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
- Article from:
- Geographical
- Article date:
- September 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Circle Publishing Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Deformities in Pennsylvania wood frogs are directly linked to the combination of infection by parasites and by a weakening of their immune systems through exposure to pesticides, researchers from Penn State University have found. Up to 30 per cent of frogs in some areas are affected by deformities, but scientists were previously unsure whether they were caused by pollution or the naturally occurring trematode worm (Phylum Platyhelminthes).
Frogs were monitored and exposed to exact amounts of both trematode larvae and pesticide both separately and simultaneously. They showed that while the parasite causes ...