Can anyone think of any incidents in which pesticides have had strong negative impacts on local wildlife?

Answer 1

http://www.pesticide.org/counterpartcomments.html
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/publications/birdscope/winter2003/Why_Count_Birds.html
http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/04-17654.html
http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/2005/Roundup-Aquatic-Communities1apr05.htm
http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Chemicals-from-Agriculture.html

Answer 2

Most pesticides mimic estrogenic hormones in animals. This has the result of decreasing fertility in males, thinning egg walls in birds, and other reproductive disorders.
Organophosphate pesticides are neurotoxic, and can cause permanent neurological damage and death. They function by inhibiting the action of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in nerve cells. Some nerve gases used in warfare are based off of these chemicals. Also, some cats and dogs have inadvertantly been poisoned by the owners for using expired flea and tick products on them, as the organophosphates were more concentrated in the expired product due to chemical degredation of the carrier formula and thus were highly toxic even at normal doses.

Answer 3

Um, yes. In every application of pesticides, there is a negative impact (death) on the local wildlife it is applied to. Ancillary negative effects include birds being poisoned by eating pesticide-treated insects, butterfly populations being decimated by the inclusion of BT genetic material in bio-engineered corn or other crop plants, fish kills from residue washing into streams, the near-extinction of the Bald Eagle and Brown Pelican from DDT residue accumulations in the fish they eat causing weakening of their eggshells with resultant hatching failures, malathion overspray killing harmless garter snakes and frogs, . . . how much do you need?

Answer 4

A lady by the name of Rachel Carlson wrote a book called "Silent Spring" which talked about the effects of DDT on birds. Look it up on Wikepedia.

Answer 5

frogs who grow an extra set of legs is one that pops into my head right away. this happens all over the US and is fairly common b/c of polluted waters with pesticides.

Answer 6

Look up the effects that DDT had...