Pesticides contaminate frogs from Californian National Parks

Californian pesticides spreading into protected areas

July 2013. Pesticides commonly used in California's Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, have been found in remote frog species miles from farmland. Writing in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, researchers demonstrate the contamination of Pacific Tree Fogs in remote mountain areas, including national parks; supporting past research on the potential transport of pesticides by the elements.

One of the most intensely farmed regions in North America

California's Central Valley is one of the most intensely farmed regions in North America, producing 8% of U.S agricultural output by value. While the use of pesticides such as triazines, endosulfan and organophosphates is common across the U.S., California uses more pesticides than any other state.

"Our results show that current-use pesticides, particularly fungicides, are accumulating in the bodies of Pacific chorus frogs in the Sierra Nevada," said Kelly Smalling a research hydrologist from the U.S. Geological Survey. "This is the first time we've detected many of these compounds, including fungicides, in these remote locations."

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