Frogs and other Amphibians: The Impacts of Radiofrequency Radiation
The health of frog populations may be indicative of overall ecosystem health in the region, since many frog species are known as habitat bio-indicators.
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Frog populations have declined dramatically globally, and botanists have documented their decline even in protected areas that have been spared pesticide exposure and habitat destruction.
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Botanists have also documented the decline of other amphibian species in protected areas in the absence of pesticides and habitat loss, as well as decreases in biodiversity and species numbers more broadly.
These findings present a challenge to the previous idea that pesticide exposure and habitat destruction were the main forms of human pollution driving the declines in frogs and amphibians.
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As biologists continue searching for causes, an emerging literature finds correlations between substantial increases in electromagnetic pollution and significant decreases in frog and amphibian reproduction and population numbers.
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Mobile phone mast effects on common frog tadpoles
In 2010, biologist Alfonso Balmori published his study of a common frog habitat located near a cell tower. Balmori studied the reproduction of the frogs for two months, from the egg phase through the advanced tadpole phase. All of the frogs were being exposed in the wild to the cell tower which was approximately 140 meters away. To protect some of the frogs from the cell tower's radiation emissions, he built a shielded structure called a "Faraday cage" and placed some of the frogs inside. The frogs that were left alone, unshielded, outside of the Faraday cage were exposed as usual to the antenna’s radiofrequency fields. The unshielded frogs had a mortality (death rate) of 90 percent during the two months of the study. The frogs that were sheilded from the cell tower radiation had a dramatically lower mortality rate of 4.2 percent.
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​Balmori, A. and C. Navarra, “Mobile phone mast effects on common frog (Rana temporaria) tadpoles; the city turned into a laboratory,” Electromagn Biol Med, 2010, June;29(1-2); 31-5. 59.
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​​Excerpt: “This research may have huge implications for the natural world, which is now exposed to high microwave radiation levels from a multitude of phone masts.”
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Link to scientific article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15368371003685363?journalCode=iebm20
Snapping turtles change their alignment in the geomagnetic field when subject to radiofrequency radiation
Snapping turtles have been reported to change their orientation in the geomagnetic field when subject to a radiofrequency field.
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Landler L., Painter M.S., Phillips J.B. Spontaneous magnetic alignment by yearling snapping turtles: rapid association of radio frequency dependent pattern of magnetic input with novel surroundings. PLoS One. 2015;10:e0124728. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Schola
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Electromagnetic Pollution and Amphibian Decline: An Important Piece of the Puzzle?
In this review of the scientific literature, biologist Alfonso Balmori presents findings on the impact of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) from wireless telecommunications on amphibians.
He concludes that microwave range and radiofrequency range electromagnetic pollution are possible causes for deformations and declines found in some amphibian populations.
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Alfonso Balmori (2006) The incidence of electromagnetic pollution on the amphibian decline: Is this an important piece of the puzzle?, Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 88:2, 287-299, DOI: 10.1080/02772240600687200
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Abstract: A bibliographical review on the possible effects of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) from wireless telecommunications on living organisms and its impact on amphibians is presented. The technical characteristics of this new technology and the scientific discoveries that are of interest in the study of their effects on wild fauna and amphibians are described. Electromagnetic pollution (in the microwave and in the radiofrequency range) is a possible cause for deformations and decline of some amphibian populations. Keeping in mind that amphibians are reliable bio-indicators, it is of great importance to carry out studies on the effects of this new type of contamination. Finally, some methodologies that could be useful to determine the adverse health effects are proposed.
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Link: https://www.avaate.org/IMG/pdf/TEC_Balmori._Amphibian.pdf
