NEWS 8 (Austin, Texas) 08 November 07 Biology students study mutated amphibians
At night, when most of us are watching TV, a few curious minds are outside gathering information about the global decline in amphibian populations.
Texas Parks and Wildlife, biology professor Ben Pierce and his students as part of the Texas Amphibian Watch. They go out one night a week from 7 p.m. - midnight and listed to frog calls.
The data Pierce and his students collect may help determine what is causing a decline in amphibians worldwide.
"It all started back in 1989 when scientists at a conference started comparing notes and finding out that they were seeing really alarming decreases in amphibian populations," Lee Ann Linam of Texas Parks & Wildlife said.
In the mid-90s, frogs began appearing with many malformations, such as extra legs, eyes or missing limbs. Texas scientists wondered if it was a global phenomenon. And so Pierce and his students hit the road, not so much watching as listening to the frogs.
"Texas Parks and Wildlife provides a randomly selected route. And we stop at wetlands where frogs might be present - ponds or creeks or just a wet area. We listen for five minutes and record any frog calls we hear,” Pierce said.
Texas has about 40 species of frogs and toads, but there is little information about their fluctuating numbers. So it’s difficult for scientist to deduce what might be causing their dwindling numbers.
"Maybe the habitat is changing, the climate is changing, and amphibians are kind of suffering the consequences," Linam said.
"There's the problem with ultraviolet radiation, indications that some chemicals are having effects on some populations. Habitat, of course, is an issue, but again, you can't draw any conclusions without some data," biologist Andy Price said.
But each year, more amphibian watchers learn how to collect that data by attending workshops and learning frog calls by listening to a CD.
“Now with Texas Amphibian Watch we've got about 150 different sampling sites, and so when data comes in from points like that all over the state, we're able to get a pretty nice picture of what's going on," Linam said.
To date, one Texas frog species is gone, the Northern Leopard frog. And the Houston Toad is endangered primarily due to habitat loss. But the initial news for most Texas amphibians could be worse.
"We know some of them are in habitats that are threatened, like some of our spring dwelling salamanders, but we don't see the alarming trends that we've seen in some places around the world," Linam said.
"We have to be cognizant of their susceptibility to declines. I think we have to really work to provide the habitats that support them, but I am hopeful about frogs. I think that my grandchildren will one day get to go out and listen to the same frogs that I hear today. That's my hope anyway," Pierce said.
Biology students study mutated amphibians