Horrific genetic mutations in frogs and toads in Bermuda could be an early warning sign for humans, top biologist Dr. Donald Linzey has warned.

And Dr. Linzey said: "What is affecting them could be affecting humans ten to 20 years down the road.'' He said that up to 25 percent of toads examined from various sample sites had been found to have extra limbs, missing limbs or other deformities.

He added that concentrations of heavy metals, pesticides and serious liver damage in samples of the toad population was "certainly serious enough to warrant more intensive investigation''.

Tree frogs have also been found to be missing white blood cells -- vital for keeping the immune system up to strength in amphibians as well as humans.

He said that toads and frogs could well serve as indicators of the general health of the environment because their skin absorbs pollutants very easily.

Dr. Linzey explained: "Because of the permeability of their skin, they may signal environmental stress earlier than most other organisms.

"Amphibian skin assists in respiration and gases, chemicals and fluids can easily diffuse into the body.

Dr. Linzey -- a professor of biology at a college in Virginia who has been researching the decline in Bermuda's amphibian population for several years -- was speaking at the weekend Eden Project expo of green technology in Hamilton's Number One Shed.

He said scientists had noted a worldwide massive die-off around the world of frogs and toads.

Dr. Linzey added: "This disappearance of amphibians, particularly those in remote areas, suggests a general degradation of the environment, possibly worldwide in scope.'' Dr. Linzey added: "According to a study in Denmark, people who die of cancer have much higher levels of a particular pesticide -- and we have found that in half of the sites we have in Bermuda.'' Heavy metals have also been found in the muscle and/or skin of samples taken from sites across the Island.

And chemicals contained in fertilisers have been proven to cause deformities in the amphibian population -- at levels below the official US safety levels.

Dr. Linzey said: "We wonder if that could be having the same effect on humans.

"We have not reached any conclusions -- my feeling is it will take another three or four years.'' But Dr. Linzey said the future of the Bermuda amphibian study -- one of the most intensive of its kind -- was under threat due to a lack of funding.

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