• Question: How will polution affect species reproduction?

    Asked by naimasultana123 to Iain, Chris, Anna on 18 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Anna Middleton

      Anna Middleton answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      Hi again
      I can’t think of any examples off the top of my head but my assumption is that pollution would affect species reproduction in some way, depending on the species. Although if you follow the principles of evolution and the fact that we all adapt to our environment then you might find that the species that are able to reproduce in areas of large pollution will be the ones that survive better.

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      Depending on the pollution, the effect can be quite big. For instance, in 1986 there was a explosion in a nuclear power plant in the city of Chernobyl in the Ukraine. This releases massive amounts of nuclear pollution into the surrounding areas, and has had a bad effect on the wildlife there, partly because radiation can cause infertility. However, some species have adapted to the pollution. Most biologists though that life could never exists in the remains of the nuclear power station, where the pollution was the worst. Almost 25 years after the explosion, scientists discovered a species of fungus inside which not only could survive, but was actually using the radiation as a source of energy! The ability for life to adapt really is incredible.

      It isn’t just radioactive pollution which can change reproduction though. There are some pollutants called endocrine disruptors, which can do all sorts of things. For instance, they can turn male fish into female fish, or causing fish to have more female offspring than male. This is something to worry about, because humans eat a lot of fish, and the pollutants could act as sex hormones in humans and could also make us infertile.

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