Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi:

I just came home from my son's 7th grade science fair. Boy I lost a lot of sleep the last few nights. Next year we get to choose whatever topic of experimentation we want to. 'Course he and I thought frogs and so did the rest of the school.

Its still early, but maybe not too early to think of and begin some study on frogs. We thought how great it would be to pose a question related to the decline of frogs in the world due to global warming to give that topic some light and how Darts specifically are affected. But we don't have the faintest idea what type of experimentation we could do without harming any frogs, and feasibly.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions on anything...from topics, to places to research, to hypothesis ideas, to procedures and materials to use? I sure hope that this hobby could indeed be both for our enjoyment but also truly educational for my son and other students and parents. It would be great to bring the awareness up.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We wanted to start early too to spread the cost out more managably.

Regards,

Maggie

My thought has always been that runoff, oil drippings from cars, from roads after a rain and all that oil finding it's way into streams, marshes and rivers has got to be one of the largest negative impacts on amphibian populations. Watch the next time you're at a large parking lot and it starts to rain and you can see the sheen of the oil as it rises off the pavement and travels to a gutter. I can remember when I was 10 and moved into our neighborhood that the marsh below was full of small reed frogs--hundreds of them. After they built houses and drained the runoff from the road into the marsh they all disappeared. I think most dart frogs are suffering from habitat loss. You could make a small display that illustrates oil runoff.

One topic that would be great is the effect of the Chytrid fungus that is wiping out amphibian populations all over the world. No one knows for sure how it is spread, where it started, or anything really vital. There is a lot of really good and interesting information out there. It's pretty scary stuff, and the plus side is that by doing your project on this fungus is that you are also getting people informed. Knowledge truly is power and it is the only way we can ever beat this and make a difference. Just an idea...

I did a Senior (college) research projects on agriculture and its affects on amphibian populations which is a broad enough topic to find plenty of resources on. I still have my Powerpoint presentation that I could send to you.
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Hey you guys:

Fabulous suggestions! I'd love any input you guys to make as I brainstorm with my son. Interestingly enough, I was just contacted by a pro photographer to take pictures of my frogs for a book being written for children on the effects of herbacides on the world's frog population. He came and took pics today of my Pampas Toads and my Imitator froglets. The scientist that will be featured in the book is Tyrone Hayes. The book is supposed to be published in 2008, a year too late for the science fair though. If any one of you live in Southern Cal or San Francisco wouldn't mind having him taking your frogs' pics, send me an email. He still needs more different kinds of frogs.

Thanks-

Maggie