Pesticides Found in Sierra Nevada Frogs

Even though DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, it’s byproduct, DDE, is still one of the most widely detected compounds in our natural environment. And this compound along with several other pesticides and fungicides are being detected in innocent wildlife. A recent study conducted by the USGS California Water Science Center and the USGS Western Ecological Research Center shows that frogs in the Sierra Nevada mountain habitats have concentrations of these pesticides within their tissues. “Our results show that current-use pesticides, particularly fungicides, are accumulating in the bodies of Pacific chorus frogs in the Sierra Nevada,” says Kelly Smalling, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and lead author of the study. “This is the first time we’ve detected many of these compounds, including fungicides, in the Sierra Nevada. The data generated by this study support past research on the potential of pesticides to be transported by wind or rain from the Central Valley to the Sierras.”