Around 22 million tonnes ( 24.2 million tons ) of common salt is thrown onto sidewalks and highways across the US each year in an attempt to de - frost the roads . No doubt , it make your winter commute a lot safe . But unfortunately , it ’s also having a peculiar force on frogs .
Naturally take place chemical substance found in the salt can convert the gender of frogs during development , thereby have it away up the healthy sex activity ratios in their population , according to ecologist from Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies . The study was late published in theCanadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences .
" Many scientists have studied like effects from exposure to pharmaceuticals and pesticides , but now we ’re seeing it from chemicals found in vulgar road common salt , " said lede generator Max Lambert , a doctoral student at Yale , ina instruction .
The researchers say that the salt has a " masculinizing " essence that results in a sex setback during the early growing of the batrachian . They hypothesized the foreign phenomenon could be induce by molecules , such as Na , which could bind the receptor in cells and mimic the effects of testosterone or estrogen .
" There is a very belittled testosterone - like effect with one common salt mote . But if you ’re dumping lots and rafts of pounds of salt on the roads every wintertime that washes into these ponds , it can have a large effect , ” Lambert explain .
They screen out their ideas through an experiment involving a serial of 500 - cubic decimetre ( 110 Imperial gallon ) water tank , with variegate levels of route salt , then introduce a frog universe . Before the origination of salinity , the population had a female - heavy universe , but when the salt was introduced the portion of female person drip by 10 percent .
“ So you ’re not only take in fewer females but smaller females that may not be able to produce as many egg . And the eggs are probably go to be low character , " Lambert add .
The researchers concluded that if road table salt was affect amphibian in a sub - deadly way , their survey could pave the path for more research into how other aquatic species may also be being involve by road salts .
