Roundup harmful to amphibians

RE: Roundup Can Cause Morphological Changes in Amphibians

The world's most popular weed killer, Roundup®, can cause abnormal growth in amphibians, according to research published in the March 2012 issue of Ecological Applications. Rick Relyea, University of Pittsburgh professor of biological sciences with extensive research experience, showed that exposure to sublethal and environmentally relevant concentrations of Roundup® caused two species of amphibians to alter their morphology.

Roundup® is widely used in conjunction with GM Roundup Ready herbicide tolerant crops.

According to Relyea, this is the first study to show that a pesticide can induce morphological changes in a vertebrate animal.

"Herbicides are not designed to affect animals, but we are learning that they can have a wide range of surprising effects by altering how hormones work in the bodies of animals. This is important because amphibians not only serve as a barometer of the ecosystem's health, but also as an indicator of potential dangers to other species in the food chain, including humans," he says.

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http://www.news.pitt.edu/Pesticides_MOrph
Press Release

New Study Is First to Show That Pesticides Can Induce Morphological Changes in Vertebrate Animals, says Pitt Researcher When exposed to the popular herbicide Roundup®, tadpoles change shape in ways that are normally induced by predators

University of Pittsburg, Mar 30, 2012
Contact: B. Rose Huber | rhuber@pitt.edu | 412-624-4356 | Cell:
412-328-6008

PITTSBURGH- The world's most popular weed killer, Roundup®, can cause amphibians to change shape, according to research published today in Ecological Applications.

Rick Relyea, University of Pittsburgh professor of biological sciences in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and director of Pitt's Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, demonstrated that sublethal and environmentally relevant concentrations of Roundup® caused two species of amphibians to alter their morphology. According to Relyea, this is the first study to show that a pesticide can induce morphological changes in a vertebrate animal.