Pollution Changes Male Frogs Into Female Frogs!

Pollution Changes Male Frogs Into Female Frogs!

Source Link: news.yahoo.com

Frogs that started life as male tadpoles were changed in an experiment into females by estrogen-like pollutants similar to those found in the environment, according to a new study.

The results may shed light on at least one reason that up to a third of frog species around the world are threatened with extinction, suggests the study, set to appear in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in May.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Holy ____




Is all I have to say really.

Thats probably not a good thing though.

Unbelievable! That's simply amazing, and troubling at the same time. A possible explanation for extinction. I mean what in the hack can you do, add testosterone-like substances to bodies of water?
Then what - would females turn to males?
Would we have Scwarzenegger frogs?

Lol, from the reply's it looks like you guys did't know that certain kinds of frogs and toads, all sorts of fish and probably some other reptiles can change sex depending on "supply and demand".

What this article is about is that the polution forces them one way and with it they loose the ability to change to what they need to be to keep a healthy population.


[edit on 28/2/07 by thematrix]

Originally posted by thematrix
Lol, from the reply's it looks like you guys did't know that certain kinds of frogs and toads, all sorts of fish and probably some other reptiles can change sex depending on "supply and demand".

What this article is about is that the polution forces them one way and with it they loose the ability to change to what they need to be to keep a healthy population.

[edit on 28/2/07 by thematrix]

You're right thematrix, I did not know that. I still find it disconcerting that pollutants can alter these animals in any way at all regarding their sex. How long before it effects humans. Don't all embryos start out as female, then change to a male if the proper chemical reaction occurs? Is it far fetched to think it could indeed effect humans?

Well, with humans you normaly have XX for female and XY for males (which is how generaly male/female status is determined on a genetic level for every living thing) but in rare cases you also have men with XX chromosones and females with XY chromosones. This has led scientists to believe that, although XX/XY chromosone status is the master factor, there are other defining factors for the sex of a specimen, showing that the actual reproductive organ genetic code for both sexes and the definition of sex of a specimen is most likely present in both XX and XY.

With these morphing frogs there are 2 kinds of sex chromosones, called XX/XY and ZZ/ZW.

I'm unclear about this but from what I understand one of the chromosone sets is picked at birth allowing for the sexchange lateron, so you have frogs in a population with XX/XY that can't change sex and ZZ/ZW's that can change sex.

This would be so that when for instance, an overpopulation of males occurs in a population, we wouldn't have ALL of the male frogs turn female all of the sudden, just the ones with the ZZ/ZW chromosones.

[edit on 28/2/07 by thematrix]

Originally posted by lombozo
You're right thematrix, I did not know that. I still find it disconcerting that pollutants can alter these animals in any way at all regarding their sex.

yeah freaky-deaky, ain't it? You want some more interesting info, do a Google News search for tea tree oil lavender, for example.

Originally posted by yeahright

yeah freaky-deaky, ain't it? You want some more interesting info, do a Google News search for tea tree oil lavender, for example.

YIKES! I use that stuff to wash my son. Gonna have to put a stop tothat. But now that I think about it, I've got to figure out a way to get my wife to use alot more of those oils on herself when she bathes!