Fish-eating birds poisoning

Another major incident concerning methyl mercury was the severe pollution of Minamata bay in Japan (see Box 8.1). Here fish, fish-eating and scavenging birds, and humans feeding upon fish all died from organomercury poisoning. There may have been localized declines of marine species in this area due to methyl mercury, but there is no clear evidence of this. 

Pesticides are chemical agents used to kill pests such as insects, snails, spiders, birds, or fish. Any living thing can be a pest at times many weeds are simply plants growing in unwanted places, and prairie dogs look cute in the zoo, but their eating habits can cause widespread damage to cropland or livestock. Pesticides are, however, seriously poisonous substances. 

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