the creeping taint...pollution causes behavioral changes in animals

[Guest guest]

Pollution Causes Animals to Act All Freaky

 

It seems to some folks that humans behave in more and more bizarre

fashion these days, but animals have tended to go about their animal

business in a generally ordinary fashion. No more: Ubiquitous

chemical pollutants known as endocrine disruptors -- everything from

heavy metals to PCBs -- are altering animal behavior in zany ways.

Male gulls are trying to mate with each other. Goldfish are

hyperactive. Macaques are roughhousing more roughly. Newts can't

find each other to mate. It's kind of funny, only not. According to

two major new reviews in the journal Animal Behaviour, these

behavioral disruptions could pose a larger threat to animals'

survival than previously thought. The researchers say different

concentrations of pollutants can cause different, sometimes

contradictory, behaviors, and they argue it's high time for

biologists and toxicologists to work together more closely. " The

most important point " of the studies, says researcher Dustin Penn,

" is the incredible amount of evidence that this is a widespread

problem. "

 

straight to the source: New Scientist, Andy Coghlan, 03 Sep 2004

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