Biologists from UrFU, the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Zoology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered common diseases in tadpoles (Duttaphrynus) in the Himalayas. Scoliosis, kyphosis, short tail, rounded, forked tail tip, eye chamber disorder and abdominal edema were detected. This causes concern among scientists as it indicates serious environmental pollution. UrFU reported this to socialbites.ca.
“We collected tadpole samples from seven river sites between 687 and 1349 meters above sea level. A total of 717 tadpoles from two frog species were studied. The most common abnormality was scoliosis. The rarest was a forked tail. But there were also tadpoles with more than one abnormality at the same time. A “There were up to three malformations in the larva. To our knowledge, our data are the first record of the occurrence of abnormalities in amphibians from the Himalayas.” The head of the Department of Animal Health and Biodiversity and Bioecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and UrFU told socialbites.ca.
Deformations occurred in 3.3-13.6% of tadpoles, which caused concern among scientists, since such indicators are not an error, but evidence of mass deviations.
The Himalayas are considered a relatively unpolluted and sparsely populated region, and scientists took water samples. The analysis showed that pH, water salinity and salinity did not affect the condition of the tadpoles. The researchers suggested that changes in frogs may have been influenced by human agricultural activities.
“We identified two locations with the highest incidence of abnormal tadpoles in the tributaries of the Yamuna River: Aglad Nadi (10.9) and Purola (two sites Purola-1 and Purola-2, 13.6 and 10.9% respectively). Aglad-Nadi The river is used for grazing, and the Purola River is used for agriculture,” says Vladimir Vershinin.
As the researchers explain, aquatic amphibian larvae are highly sensitive to various chemical pollutants used in agriculture. Many studies show that agricultural chemicals affect the survival, development and morphogenesis of tadpoles.
Researchers believe that the combined use of agricultural pesticides, herbicides, mineral fertilizers and household pollution leads to increased deviations, increasing their frequency and variability.
Previously at UrFU to create Algae contains substances that help fight coronavirus.