All things are connected
Frogs are getting terrible deformities in the US because of phosphorous and nitrogen run-off from farms, according to this report. The interesting aspect is the way that the connectedness of ecological systems results in cascading events.
The runoff sets in motion a series of events in lakes and ponds where frogs live, the researchers said. The nutrients stimulate the growth of algae, which in turn increases the population of snails. Microscopic parasitic worms called trematodes infect the snails — and more snails means more worms. The worms reproduce asexually inside the snails, which Johnson said are turned into “zombies” castrated by the parasites, allowing the worms to expel thousands of offspring. The worms then swarm over tadpoles — the water-dwelling larvae of frogs — and burrow at the spots where limbs are developing, forming cysts and causing developmental deformities.
I wonder if anything similar has happened here with all the run-off from farms?
