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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2002)
Nation & world briefing Science briefs Study finds weedkiller causes frog mutations SAN JOSE, Calif. — Male frogs are turning into hermaphrodites in ponds and ditches polluted with atrazine, the most widely used agri cultural weedkiller in the United States, scientists at the University of Califomia-Berkeley reported Thursday in the journal Nature. Researchers said the new study could help explain why frogs are in decline. Worldwide, 58 am phibian species have gone miss ing or extinct over the past two decades; an additional 91 are critically endangered. A report last spring by scientists at Pennsylvania State University said pesticide exposure appears to make frogs more vulnerable to parasitic worms that cause de formed limbs. But researchers cautioned that other groups must duplicate the Berkeley work before the results can be considered definitive. In the United States, atrazine is used mostly on corn and sorghum crops. It’s the most commonly de tected pesticide in ground and sur face water. The Environmental Pro tection Agency allows up to 3 parts per billion of the chemical in drink ing water; it is now drawing up standards for levels of atrazine in surface water. — Glennda IChui, Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) More plant species face extinction than thought ST. LOUIS — More of the world’s plant species are threatened with extinction than previously be lieved, new research shows. A study co-authored by Peter M. Jorgensen, a biologist at the Mis souri Botanical Garden, suggests that between 22 percent and 47 percent of plant species worldwide are threatened. Scientists had previously consid ered 13 percent of the world’s plant species threatened. But that figure does not include a majority of countries in tropical re gions, where most of the world’s species grow, Jorgensen said. In the report, published Friday in the journal Science, Jorgensen and Nigel G.A. Pitman of Duke University found that 83 percent of Ecuador’s more than 4,000 na tive plants were threatened with extinction. Based on the Ecuadoran model, the researchers were able to esti mate missing data on native species in other tropical countries. Because there is debate about the total number of world plant species, the researchers made sep arate calculations on two recent es timates of the total species: 310,000 and 422,000. “We’re probably going to lose things that haven’t even been named and for which we have no idea what their utility for mankind might be,” said George Schatz, a botanist at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Plants are “doing all kinds of things for us. They’re trapping carbon dioxide and slowing global warming. They’re cleaning water. Plants are the basis of all life.” Scientists say the No. 1 reason so many plant species are threatened with extinction is human destruc tion of their habitats. “We need to have a good under standing about the species we have and the habitats we depend on,” said Kathryn Kennedy, a botanist at the Center for Plant Conservation at the Missouri Botanical Garden. “(We need) an integrated ap proach to make man’s activities fit in that area in a sustainable way,” she said. “If we can do that, we’ll be protecting ourselves and the sus tainability of our economy at the same time.” — Jodi Genshaft, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (KRT) 343-4480 Pregnant? Talk with a friend. 1.800.848.LOVE Selling your ballot? Ifs more than giving up your right to vote this year... It's a felony. Felons: -Lose access to many public and private forms of financial aid, tnchutitig giants and loans. -Find it difficnlt to gain employment nr «Aniantnn tn lTmWgra/hmffs ktu\ graHnatw programs. -Potentially lose file righto vote ever again. Oregon Law: m718 Safe arpurdbMafbelfct,replacen^bonctarboIk* envelope prohibited. It is unlawful to acB, aiftr to acUpnrdiMe or afltar to pnrohaae, fa money or odinrvainabtooonaidenrtion, any official ballot; replaormmt ballot, return ideniificalkmcpvofepo or aecrecy envelope. [1999 c.1002 $6] Z *'*^1'* S»* VICTORY 2002 Paid faby fa Oregon Re^Bcsn Party. Pleaae call (503) 968-0225 to report vote ftand. T male i female Piercers methods used members of the - - association of Professional Piercers - largest selection of toP-quality body' |B - monthly specials and discounts - k*. WWW.MGHPRIESTESSPIERCnW.COM 575 Lincoln St Eugene 541-342 / Qo to ernplive.com to download g»ae an application, then MG FROM ROCK TO FOP, bS^SSST^ SendA TaPe 0r CD Of Your Original Songs To-1! tewmiaimBMttgy? .5-i : .>x&. j ifclVfP | SOUND OFF! Ijj SEAmHJw}Ve- *m SL WA 98151 _ music related prizes and the opportunity to open for a national touring act. Semi-finalists will be notified directly in December 2002. and concerts will take place in Sky Church in February 2003. /All participants must be 21 yean of age or under. I Entry Deadline Extended^ November BO! EXPERIENCE MUSIC PROJECT. emplive.com
