Evidence of mutagenic and lethal effects of herbicides on Amazonian frogs

Abstract

Amphibians are excellent bioindicators because they are sensitive to chemical pollution and can indicate ecosystem changes due to the presence of or exposure to chemical compounds. Here we report evidence of the impact of herbicides, including glyphosate, on amphibians in a locality in the central Brazilian Amazon and compare it with data from other biomes in Brazil. We observed malformations in three species of Leptodactylus and local extinctions of Scinax ruber and Rhinella marina from reproductive sites close to an area where herbicides had been applied. The observations in the Amazon are similar to reports from Brazil’s Atlantic forest on morphological anomalies and mortality in amphibians exposed to herbicides. We warn of the threat of expanding crops for the production of biofuels in the Amazon due to their cultivation being associated with agrochemicals, including glyphosate, posing a threat to the biodiversity of the Amazon biome.

Effects of Amazonian flying rivers on frog biodiversity and populations in the Atlantic rainforest

“…Scinax caldarum, another endemic species in this area of climatic instability, has declined in its area of occurrence by more than 85% over the last 27 years; it no longer occurs in Areado and is reported only in Caldas and Poços de Caldas . Extirpations of anurans have occurred for all species recorded in this region due to forest fragmentation, disconnection of aquatic habitats from the terrestrial environment (Becker et al, 2007(Becker et al, , 2010, and from the harmful effects of agriculture (Ferrante et al, 2017;Ferrante & Fearnside, 2020c). These threats tend to act synergistically to extinguish isolated populations in forest fragments, which will be especially susceptible to climate change.…”

Leaf-Litter Anurans in An Agricultural Landscape in the araucaria Forest: A Case Study for Southern Brazil

“…In this sense, the occurrence of endangered species in plantations, such as Melanophryniscus devincenzii, which occurred almost exclusively in this environment, is concerning because the viability and maintenance of their populations can be threatened. Also, we did not evaluate the preparation of the soil for the agricultural cultivation or sample arboreal species, which tend to be closely associated with the vertical strata of the environment and are likely to be more impacted by the habitat alterations (Gonçalves et al, 2019; Oliveira and Scheffers, 2019; Ferrante and Fearnside, 2020; Moutinho et al, 2020).…”

Poison frog social behaviour under global change: potential impacts and future challenges

“…metals and metalloids: Hg, Cu, Co, Zn, and As) can impair individuals' immune defences and further increase their susceptibility to pathogens and diseases (Christin et al 2003). Similarly, when found in low concentrations, they can delay growth and metamorphosis (Carey and Bryant 1995), cause malformations (Unrine et al 2004;Ferrante and Fearnside 2020), alter fertility and fecundity (Adams et al 2021), or even cause sex-reversals (Nemesházi et al 2020), often leading to devastating consequences for amphibian populations (Brühl et al 2013). Increasing evidence demonstrates effects on a wide range of amphibian behaviours, such as reduced rates of activity (e.g.…”