SynthesisEnvironmental health perspectives2010
A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians.
Synthesis in Environmental health perspectives, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 71 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 338 citations in OpenAlex.
- Shifting waters: how habitat alteration affects host-parasite dynamics in freshwater ecosystems.Parasitology research · 2026Review
- Patterns of Local Adaptation in the Northern Leopard Frog (Evolutionary applications · 2026Article
- The Individual and Combined Effects of Warming and Atrazine on Lithobates pipiens Phenotypes: Implications for Frog Declines.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Chemical Interference: A Review on Endocrine Disruptors and Reproductive Communication in Amphibians.Ecology and evolution · 2025Review
- Aquatic Macrophytes in the Remediation of Atrazine in Water: A Study on Herbicide Tolerance and Degradation UsingACS omega · 2025Article
- Actinorhizal plants and Frankiaceae: The overlooked future of phytoremediation.Environmental microbiology reports · 2024Review
- Framework for multi-stressor physiological response evaluation in amphibian risk assessment and conservation.Frontiers in ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Drinking Water Contaminant Concentrations and Birth Outcomes.Journal of policy analysis and management : [the journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management] · 2024Article
- Atrazine: cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, testicular effects and chemopreventive Interventions.Frontiers in toxicology · 2023Review
- Oocyte Development and Quality in Young and Old Mice following Exposure to Atrazine.Environmental health perspectives · 2022Article
- Juvenile African Clawed Frogs (International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Comprehensive analysis of differences of NGenes and environment : the official journal of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society · 2021Article
- Influence of Herbicide Exposure and Ranavirus Infection on Growth and Survival of Juvenile Red-Eared Slider Turtles (Viruses · 2021Article
- Effects of atrazine short-term exposure on jumping ability and intestinal microbiota diversity in male Pelophylax nigromaculatus adults.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Article
- Effects of multiple stressors on northern leopard frogs in agricultural wetlands.Parasitology · 2021Article
- Trematodes coupled with neonicotinoids: effects on blood cell profiles of a model amphibian.Parasitology research · 2021Article
- Agricultural pesticides and ectoparasites: potential combined effects on the physiology of a declining aerial insectivore.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Agrochemicals with estrogenic endocrine disrupting properties: Lessons Learned?Molecular and cellular endocrinology · 2020Review
- Can short-term exposure to copper and atrazine be cytotoxic to microalgae?Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe biological effects of the herbicide atrazine on freshwater vertebrates are highly controversial. In an effort to resolve the controversy, we conducted a qualitative meta-analysis on the effects of ecologically relevant atrazine concentrations on amphibian and fish survival, behavior, metamorphic traits, infections, and immune, endocrine, and reproductive systems. DATA SOURCES: We used published, peer-reviewed research and applied strict quality criteria for inclusion of studies in the meta-analysis. DATA SYNTHESIS: We found little evidence that atrazine consistently caused direct mortality of fish or amphibians, but we found evidence that it can have indirect and sublethal effects. The relationship between atrazine concentration and timing of amphibian metamorphosis was regularly nonmonotonic, indicating that atrazine can both accelerate and delay metamorphosis. Atrazine reduced size at or near metamorphosis in 15 of 17 studies and 14 of 14 species. Atrazine elevated amphibian and fish activity in 12 of 13 studies, reduced antipredator behaviors in 6 of 7 studies, and reduced olfactory abilities for fish but not for amphibians. Atrazine was associated with a reduction in 33 of 43 immune function end points and with an increase in 13 of 16 infection end points. Atrazine altered at least one aspect of gonadal morphology in 7 of 10 studies and consistently affected gonadal function, altering spermatogenesis in 2 of 2 studies and sex hormone concentrations in 6 of 7 studies. Atrazine did not affect vitellogenin in 5 studies and increased aromatase in only 1 of 6 studies. Effects of atrazine on fish and amphibian reproductive success, sex ratios, gene frequencies, populations, and communities remain uncertain.
conclusionsAlthough there is much left to learn about the effects of atrazine, we identified several consistent effects of atrazine that must be weighed against any of its benefits and the costs and benefits of alternatives to atrazine use.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.