Reproductive success and development of F2 offspring from F1 adult African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) exposed to atrazine throughout larval development and as sexually mature adults was examined. Larval X. laevis were exposed to one of four nominal concentrations of atrazine (0, 1, 10, 25 microg atrazine/l) beginning 96 hr after fertilization and continuing through two years post-metamorphos...

Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) exhibit marked geographic variation in freeze tolerance, with subarctic populations tolerating experimental freezing to temperatures at least 10-13 degrees Celsius below the lethal limits for conspecifics from more temperate locales. We determined how seasonal responses enhance the cryoprotectant system in these northern frogs, and also investigated their physiologic...

Spinal cord modularity impacts on our understanding of reflexes, development, descending systems in normal motor control, and recovery from injury. We used independent component analysis and best-basis or matching pursuit wavepacket analysis to extract the composition and temporal structure of bursts in hindlimb muscles of frogs. These techniques make minimal a priori assumptions about drive an...

Body wiping behavior, integumentary secretions and rates of evaporative water loss (EWL) were examined in six species of Florida tree frogs (Anura: Hylidae). Additionally, morphology of the integument and dermal glands were compared among these and one other Florida tree frog (Hyla andersonii), an arid-adapted tree frog (Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis), and a highly aquatic frog (Rana utricularia...

All life stages of Rocky Mountain Tailed Frogs (Ascaphus montanus) occurred in a reach of Moore Creek. Montana, where water temperatures exceeded those previously reported for Ascaphus in the wild. However, relative density of Ascaphus in the wannest reach, immediately downstream of a lake outlet, was lower than in cooler reaches downstream. Although we observed larvae and frogs in water temper...

BACKGROUND While emerging diseases are affecting many populations of amphibians, some populations are resistant. Determining the relative contributions of factors influencing disease resistance is critical for effective conservation management. Innate immune defenses in amphibian skin are vital host factors against a number of emerging pathogens such as ranaviruses and the amphibian chytrid fun...

Body size is a central biological parameter affecting most biological processes (especially energetics) and the mitochondrion is a key organelle controlling metabolism and is also the cell's main source of chemical energy. However, the link between body size and mitochondrial function is still unclear, especially in ectotherms. In this study, we investigated several parameters of mitochondrial ...

Ecological theory predicts that species with restricted geographic ranges will have the highest probability of extinction, but species with extensive distributions and high population densities can also exhibit widespread population losses. In the western United States populations of northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens)-historically one of the most widespread frogs in North America-have ...

Species extinctions have the potential to dramatically reshape ecological communities. In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, the emergence of a lethal amphibian pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) drives mountain yellowlegged frog (Rana muscosa and Rana sierrae) populations to local extinction. Prior to population declines, these frogs and their tadpoles were abundant, highlevel p...

A key goal in road ecology is to determine which species are most vulnerable to the negative effects of roads on population persistence. Theory suggests that species that avoid roads are less likely to be negatively affected by roads than those that do not avoid roads. The goal of this study was to take a step toward testing this prediction by evaluating the behavioral response to roads and tra...