Why deformed frogs in Western Ghats should worry us
The Western Ghats seems to have opened our eyes to something we were conveniently blind to. A report published in The Hindu suggests that years of unhindered use of pesticides in the region could have led to deformed frogs.
"The Western Ghats have been witnessing an unusual number of frogs with deformities," the report said.
Missing eyes, deformed hind legs, missing limbs, extra limbs, partial limbs, limbs that are bent or bony, and abnormally thin or weak limbs are some of the reported frog abnormalities reported from the region.
The development has left scientists and those working in the health sector worried. They suspect the development is symptomatic of high levels of toxicity in the environment and the food chain.
The fact that amphibians such as frogs breed in the shallow waters of paddy fields coupled with the fact that pesticide applications coincide with the breeding periods of frogs has got the experts worried.
Alarmed over the declining population of amphibians globally, Dr HP Gurushankara from the Central University of Kerala and Dr SV Krishnamurthy from Kuvempu University, Karnataka, conducted a survey in the early 2000s to study the impact of pesticides on amphibians in laboratory conditions and found that pesticides could lead to "depletion of larval and adult population".
Experts now suspect that the pesticides used illegally in cardamom plantations of Kattappana in Kerala could be causing the deformities in frogs. Since the pesticide is banned in Kerala, it is often smuggled in from Tamil Nadu.
Amphibians play a pivotal role in the ecosystem as secondary consumers in many food chains. Tadpoles have significant impact in nutritional cycling. They are herbivorous to omnivorous and are the prey items for both invertebrates and vertebrates. A disturbance in their population or a threat to their existence will invariably impact the human food chain too.
Time we do something about the hazard before it's too late.