Analysis of the avoidance of nitrogen fertilizers in the water column by juvenile Iberian water frog, Pelophylax perezi (Seoane, 1885), in laboratory conditions.

In an experiment carried out in the laboratory in beakers, the avoidance of ammonium chloride, isolated or combined with sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, in aquatic habitat by froglets of Pelophylax perezi was studied. The results obtained suggest that nitrogen polluted treatments were not avoided by froglets of the studied species. However, despite the non-avoidance of the aquatic environment as a consequence of the presence of nitrogen compounds, significant inter-individual variation in treatment avoidance was detected. Although these results are not conclusive, they would suggest that froglets of P. perezi might occupy habitats which contain high levels of organic compounds and that they differ in their level of avoidance to fertilizer exposure.