Life Lines

Mercury pollution is causing male birds to mate with each other

Posted by Dr. Dolittle on January 3, 2011
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white ibis.jpg

Dr. Peter Frederick at the University of Florida has discovered that not only does mercury pollution lower testosterone levels in white ibises (pictured above), it also has resulted in the male birds mating with each other. His findings are published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

Dr. Frederick fed the birds a diet with varying concentrations of mercury (0.05-0.3 ppm wet weight) for three years. What he found was that 55% of the males in the highest dose group nested with other males and egg productivity dropped to 30%.

These findings demonstrate the profound impact the environment can have on physiology. Researchers who study these interactions are called Ecophysiologists. It is such a fast-growing area of research in our ever-changing world, that a conference was recently held in Westminster, CO highlighting current research in this area. The meeting, sponsored by The American Physiological Society, was called Global Change and Global Science: Comparative Physiology in a Changing World.

Photo Credit: Thomas J. Dunkerton, Titusville, Fla.

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Comments

  1. #1 darwinsdog
    January 3, 2011

    Aha! This PROVES that thimerosal, an organomercurial used as a preservative in vaccines against some childhood diseases, is causing the epidemic of homosexuality that’s sweeping America and pissing God off. I KNEW it!

    Just kidding. Don’t be surprised when anti-vaccination zealots or evangelicals make this very claim, though.

  2. #2 harlequinclrty
    January 3, 2011

    …and in completely unrelated news, Jenny McCarthy and Fred Phelps have co-founded a Save the Ibis Society, with funding from Ingrid Newkirk.

  3. #3 Hetero Hethen
    January 4, 2011

    Given the amount of mercury posioning in humans through dental work, fake (CFL) light bulbs, and other areas, this could explain the explosion of homosexuality in humans in the last 100 yeas.

    While sodomy has always been around and has always been pusnished in the Bible, this new finding could be a clue into why so many are turning to same sex “partners” as opposed to Biblical partnershps between one man and one woman.

    I often wondered if the Russians really did put something into our water supply to turn us gay as one great big sick joke.

    At any rate, we need to ban CFL bulbs and go back to regular ones. next we need to take chloring and sodium flouride out of the drinking water if the human race is to survive.

    Of course homosexuality could also be caused by an extra influx of satanic activity on the part of Americans. Satan’s presence is stronger since his time is drawing near. Perhaps he wishes to take down as many as he can with him.