About
A
Tyrone Hayes
In fish, atrazine decreases growth and causes hyperactivity and erratic swimming [1, 2]. The authors of one study suggested that the increased energy usage ultimately results in starvation. Similarly, tadpoles exposed to low levels of atrazine show erratic swimming behavior that would predictably lead to energy wasting and increased encounters with predators [3]. Like fish and tadpoles, atrazine-exposed salamanders also show erratic, hyperactive swimming that impairs their abilities to avoid predators and capture prey and results in excessive water loss [4-6].
Embryonic exposure to atrazine causes neural damage in male and female mice and rats, where specific neurons are permanently lost [7, 8]. These effects occur at very low ecologically relevant exposure levels. In rats, atrazine exposure destroys brain cells and alters brain chemistry in a way that the authors of the study predict would negatively affect movement and cognition [7].
