Condors + DDT= Thin Eggs?
In reading the news today- I stumbled across this article about Condors being harmed by DDT. Two things about this caught my attention 1- what in the world is a condor? and 2- DDT? I just learned about DDT, what's going on with it now?
What Mr. Dearen states in his article is that in a 6 year study, the levels of DDT in condor birds (a huge bird residing in central California) has risen so much, that their egg shells are becoming too thin and only 20%- 30% of the birds are actually hatching and surviving. They're absorbing this DDT through the dead sea lions they're eating off the shore line.
I believe this to be an accurate source of information. I have heard of the associated press before and believe they typically know what they're talking about. I always get my news from MSN source, so I may be a little bias about that. This 6 year study mentioned specifically studied the DDT effects on the eggs, and this study was done by 10 condor experts, which makes this article seem pretty reliable.
In the article, it talks about how California sea lions spend a majority of their lives swimming in southern California waters, where a majority of DDT contaminated waters are, and then migrate north to spread the DDT up along the coast. I wonder, where are the numbers on this? I don't disagree that it's a total possibility that California has the highest DDT infected waters, but there is absolutely no mention of where this information comes from. Until you show me where this information is coming from regarding the DDT in costal California waters, I'm just going to assume you made that information up.
In reading this information, I started off interested, and quickly was disappointed by the article itself. It doesn't seem to have enough proof of the information it's telling me. Now, I still believe that DDT is probably the main cause of the egg shells being so thin because there are multiple experts on the case; however, I do not believe that California costal waters are where a majority of this toxin is coming from.
Wow that's really sad! :( I just googled DDT and the an articles about Condors was one of the first links to pop up! It does say researches have "theorized" about the sea lions obtained DDT so your conclusions seem accurate! Good job, it was interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI never heard "DDT". This news is not perfect but eggshell is thinner actually. It is necessary to find out exactly where this toxin is what is coming. It was a very interesting article.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on not believing 100% on most things unless the author provides proof in some way. In this case, not providing a link to the research page hurts credibility. The story itself is quite sad. Very interesting article!
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