Chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers are the likely cause of a dramatic increase in deformities in Bermuda's toads to levels worse than anything seen in the United States, scientists have found.

And experts worry that the problems besetting amphibians around the world could signal serious health scares for humans.

There has been a steep increase in deformities in the toad population and decline in the numbers of toads and frogs since 1995 in North America, Europe and Asia, Dr. Jamie Bacon of Bermuda Zoological Society told an audience at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute last week.

Reports of malformed amphibians have been found in 52 species in 46 states in the US and four Canadian provinces.

In Bermuda, abnormalities, including shortened or missing limbs or missing or misplaced eyes, have risen from less than one percent in 1995-97 to at least 19 percent in 1999-2000. The normal abnormality rate would be expected to be three percent at most.

One species of whistling frog, the Eleutherodactylus Gossei, has probably become extinct in Bermuda and toads and frog numbers are down significantly.

Amphibians are vertebrates who are extremely susceptible to environmental change, so scientists worry that humans, which are also vertebrates, could eventually succumb to problems besetting the amphibians.

When malformations were discovered in frogs in Minnesota that were linked to impaired thyroid function, the rate of thyroid cancer in humans was subsequently found to be higher.

Dr. Bacon told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “It is worrisome. I don't want to be alarmist to say that human health will be affected, but there is definitely the potential that what is affecting them (amphibians) could affect people. The developmental processes are not so very different.

“I believe the Government has the cancer report, and I don't know if they had all the data, but a lot of people think there is a lot of cancer on the Island and a lot of anecdotal evidence of thyroid problems. Anecdotally, there is also the feeling by some people that there are more miscarriages than there should be.

“The worst sites are next to farms and golf courses and that indicates that chemicals are at work. But we can't just point the finger at farmers and the golf course owners because home owners use a lot of chemicals and pesticides that can be bought in stores.

“It could also be the gas and diesel emissions combining or it could be a combination of them all.”

Other problems that could occur as result of environmental contamination could increased incidence of disease, problems with the immune system, thyroid dysfunction and Lupus or Parkinson's Disease.

In her BUEI speech, Dr. Bacon, who is researching the problems in Bermuda, quoted Dr. Douglas Fort, of Fort Environmental Laboratories, saying: “I am convinced from your data that there is a real problem here that needs to be addressed. In fact, your data are more striking at first glance than the findings in Minnesota and New England”.

Dr. Bacon added: “If he is correct, Bermuda could have the dubious distinction of being worse than the worst sites in North America.”

She said Bermuda's ponds apparently contain substances that can profoundly disrupt the normal developments of toads.

At some sites across the Island, males now outnumber females by nine to one, suggesting the sex ratio is being seriously skewed by chemicals.

Dr. Bacon is hoping to get funding on the Island to bring Dr. Fort to Bermuda to study the Island's ponds to analyse what chemicals they contain.

She said the Island must use less fertilisers and consider buffer zones around sites where pesticides are being used to ensure they the chemicals don't pollute ponds.

Anyone interested in funding Dr. Bacon's research should contact her at the Aquarium Museum and Zoo on 293 2727 extension 143.