Metal-tainted insects poison carnivorous plants
By David DeFranza on 04.1.10 When we think about pollutants moving their way up the food chain, we picture a process that begins with plants or plankton and gradually compounds until it reaches species at the top — like polar bears or humans. In the case of carnivorous plants, new research has shown, consuming toxic prey is just as deadly. Through habitat loss, illegal poaching, and pollution, carnivorous plans worldwide have suffered an alarming decline in population. In fact, the rate of decline has been so sharp, that researchers believe those factors cannot be solely responsible. In search of another possible cause, Iain Green and Christopher Moody found that some metals, like cadmium, act as powerful toxins when consumed by carnivorous plants. …
