 |
 |
Disappearing amphibians
Name: Thomas C Catlow
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
Amphibians seem to be disappearing on a worldwide scale. We
know that amphibians have permeable skins & that UV radiation &
atmospheric pollution are high, however, what are the direct causal
factors to amphibian disappearance? Since these organisms also seem to
be dying off from pristine areas alien snatching could be a factor!!!
No, really, what is the latest thinking about this strange phenomenon??
Replies:
I haven't heard of that theory, but hey, anything's possible.
Precisely because air pollution does not tend to stay confined to a
limited area, but spreads around, it is likely to be having global
effects. It's become better recognized in recent years that UV can
penetrate water (at least to several s feet) and thus an increase in
general UV radiation could have effects on many amphibians world-wide.
Also, many amphibian populations hatch in the spring, when snow melt
runoff is great, If that snow contained acidic pollutants, the streams
that its runoff feeds can be transiently acidified during high snow melt
times. This can be tough on little critters, especially
newborns. So I don't think we need to invoke aliens, though there
is a certain charm; have any of the people who've been taken up on
alien ships seen frogs, toads, salamanders, etc.?
Ethan Allen
Click here to return to the Biology Archives
| |
Update: June 2012
|
|
