Mercury 'turns' wetland birds such as ibises homosexual

Eszter K. (Hungary)
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  1. mercury-contaminated
    contaminated by mercury
    We're seeing very large reproductive effects at very low concentrations

    Peter Frederick, biologist
    Although the researchers already knew that eating mercury-contaminated food could affect an animal's development, they were surprised by the "strange" results of this experiment.
  2. mercury
    a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures
    Scientists in Florida and Sri Lanka studied the effect of mercury in the birds' diet.
  3. wetland
    an ecosystem, like a bog or swamp, saturated with water
    The report, in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows that wetland birds are particularly badly affected by it.
  4. ibis
    wading birds of warm regions having long slender down-curved bills
    Mercury affects the behaviour of white ibises by "turning them homosexual", with higher doses resulting in males being more likely to pair with males.
  5. reproductive
    producing new life or offspring
    We're seeing very large reproductive effects at very low concentrations

    Peter Frederick, biologist
    Although the researchers already knew that eating mercury-contaminated food could affect an animal's development, they were surprised by the "strange" results of this experiment.
  6. coal-burning
    fueled by burning coal
    Dr Frederick says that measures could be taken to clean up any sources of mercury where they are close to wetland habitats - for example by filtering or "scrubbing" the smoke from nearby coal-burning power plants.
  7. contaminate
    make impure
    We're seeing very large reproductive effects at very low concentrations

    Peter Frederick, biologist
    Although the researchers already knew that eating mercury-contaminated food could affect an animal's development, they were surprised by the "strange" results of this experiment.
  8. methylated
    having received a methyl group
    Bacteria that live in the thick, oxygen-free sludge chemically alter the mercury, turning it into its most toxic form - methylated mercury.
Created on Sun Dec 05 08:41:25 EST 2010

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