Discovering the little-known effects chemicals released in our lakes and rivers might have on the surrounding wildlife and ecosystems can give scientists and conservationists powerful insight into the development of better, more efficient environmental guidelines.
Discovering the little-known effects chemicals released in our lakes and rivers might have on the surrounding wildlife and ecosystems can give scientists and conservationists powerful insight into the development of better, more efficient environmental guidelines.
New research led by biology professor Vance L. Trudeau at the University of Ottawa may help do just that, especially when it comes to naphthenic acids, a complex mixture of water-soluble chemicals that come from petroleum. These chemicals are toxic to frog embryos, and the developmental abnormalities they cause can be severe.
Juan Manuel Gutierrez-Villagomez, who completed his PhD under Trudeau’s supervision, came to this conclusion by finding lower survival — and higher developmental deformity — rates in frog embryos exposed to various naphthenic acids solutions.
Continue reading at University of Ottawa.
Image via University of Ottawa.
