Pesticides have been used for many years to keep insects from eating farmers' crops; however insects are not the only ones being affected by these pesticides. The frog population all throughout the Sierra has been steadily decreasing due to these chemicals. Despite none of the chemicals being sprayed in the frogs' habitat, most of the frogs were poisoned and died. How can this happen you may ask? Wind and rain has carried the pesticides from the farms in the Central Valley over to the frogs' Sierra habitat. I feel there are two possible solutions to this problem. The first is for farmers to use fewer pesticides on their crops or to utilize integrated pest management. This will ensure that less of it is carried away by winds; the downside, however, is that the crops won't be as protected from bugs. The second is to set up an organization that can research on how to make a pesticide that will affect the bugs, but won't affect the frogs. This will take more time and cost more money, but will be more efficient in the long run. This issue may appear minor to some but it is an important issue. The pesticides not only affect the frogs but also the entire food web. If the frogs become extinct, then all the other animals' populations in the frog's food chain will change as well. The insect population will increase due to the lack of predators while the bird population will decrease due to the lack of prey. It is important that something is done to protect the frog population.
http://grist.org/news/pesticides-are-blowing-into-californias-mountains-poisoning
David you are exactly right. Out of carelessness and ignorance the frog population of this ecosystem is decreasing. This will affect the ecosystem by destroying the food web completely. I believe that an organization should be made to experiment a new pesticide that will kill the insects, but no the frogs. While using less pesticide is not as costly the frogs will still die and the species made lead to extinction. I believe proper funding should be given to an organization that will be able to save the frogs from further endangerment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Patrick and David that something needs to be done to prevent the decrease of the frog population. Although it may seem tedious at first, the areas ecosystem will be grateful in the end.
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