Effects of road de-icing salt (NaCl) on larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica).

Impacts of road deicing salt on the demography of vernal pool-breeding amphibians.

Deicing agents, primarily road salt, are applied to roads in 26 states in the United States and in a number of European countries, yet the scale of impacts of road salt on aquatic organisms remains largely under-studied. The issue is germane to amphibian conservation because both adult and larval amphibians are known to be particularly sensitive to changes in their osmolar environments. In this...

Sublethal Effects of Road Salt (NaCl) Exposure on the Survival and Growth of Larval Wood Frogs (Lithobates

Road Proximity Increases Risk of Skeletal Abnormalities in Wood Frogs from National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska

BACKGROUND Skeletal and eye abnormalities in amphibians are not well understood, and they appear to be increasing while global populations decline. Here, we present the first study of amphibian abnormalities in Alaska. OBJECTIVE In this study we investigated the relationship between anthropogenic influences and the probability of skeletal and eye abnormalities in Alaskan wood frogs (Rana sylv...

Ontogenic delays in effects of nitrite exposure on tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum) and wood frogs (Rana sylvatica).

Under certain conditions, nitrite can be present in freshwater systems in quantities that are toxic to the fauna. I exposed wood frog (Rana sylvatica) and eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum) embryos and young tadpoles and larvae to elevated concentrations of nitrite in chronic toxicity tests: 0, 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.1, 4.6, and 6.1 mg/L NO2-N, exposing individuals as both embryos...

Pond canopy cover: a resource gradient for anuran larvae

1. The gradient in pond canopy cover strongly influences freshwater species distributions. This study tested the effects of canopy cover on the performance of two species of larval anurans, a canopy cover generalist (Rana sylvatica, the wood frog) and an open-canopy specialist (R. pipiens, the leopard frog), and tested which factors co-varying with canopy cover mediate these effects. 2. A field...