2 DAYS Tadpole exposed to 5 parts per million of malathion after 2 days. Note beginning formation of downward pointing tail.
DAYS Note downward curvature of the tail.
Impairments such as this, even though not causing immediate death, will result in increased vulnerability to predators. The photographs above show the surprising results of a study exposing over 400 tadpoles to different exposure levels of malathion in water. Beyond 10 ppm it is highly embryotoxic killing embryos within 24 to 48 hours. At a concentration of 1 ppm no mortality or gross morphological abnormality was observed. In few cases loss of balance and abnormal behavior of tadpoles was observed.