Hellbenders Research Paper

Most amphibians are critically endangered and this is explained by the spread of chytrid, habitat loss, and overexploitation. Researchers are saying chytrid is the explanation for the enigmatic decline. This fungal disease affects almost all amphibians by attacking their skin, eventually giving them a heart attack and killing them. Habitat loss, by climate change or deforestation, is also extremely dangerous as many amphibians only have a few places they can survive (i.e. spotted frog only has 3 places to thrive). As well, climate change can change the amphibian’s environment so great that the species can no longer survive in their habitats.

Overall for this change project, we have learned that the population of frogs has been decreasing all over the world. There are many factors that decrease their population like agriculture, invasive species, and the population of humans. Specifically, in California, only 40% of the historical sites in the Northwest area have Foothill Yellow-Legged Frogs, and this has the highest percentage out of all of California. These frogs are indicators for the environment, meaning they can determine if the area around them has changed dramatically due to their permeable skin. For our service project, we removed invasive plants like the Himalayan Blackberries and dug creek beds for the frogs. From this, we were able to improve the levelness of the area

Chapter One details the ancestry of frogs and examines the timeline of amphibians on Earth, as well as the increase in frog extinction rate. Kolbert argues that the observed extinction rates which are exceeding expected background extinction rates suggest that catastrophe is ahead for Earth. Humans are key to the extinction of Panamanian frogs due to their spreading of the Chtrid fungus, which is not native to Panama. Thus, Kolbert sees humans

Many sources say that the initial spread of this invasive species began at the end of the 1800's when bullfrogs were shipped to California to fill hungry loggers appetite for frog legs. The frogs competed with the other native species with the supply of natural resources while also consuming and exploiting the native amphibian species as well. Worldwide Rana catesbeiana has driven over one-hundred native species of frogs to extinction (Save The Frogs! et al. 2013). This is a huge impact on amphibian wildlife worldwide because there are about 4,800 species of frogs. Over the past hundred years the bullfrog has wiped out over 2% of the world's species of frogs. Studies have shown one of the reasons bullfrogs will cripple Arizonian ecosystems and the native amphibian species directly is because a female bullfrog’s physiology

Present in all bodies of water are self cleaning mechanisms that are suppose to be able to break down the chemicals into simpler compounds that don’t harm the environment such as carbon dioxide (Rana, 2006, p. 42). Since there so many pollutants that the world is putting into our sewage systems on top of the runoffs from crops, and waste from manufacturers, the mechanisms can’t keep up with the toxic build up and eventually the water is concentrated with chemicals. Therefore the amphibian population

Amphibian specialist Mark Mandia went on a backwoods expedition in southeastern Georgia, in hopes to find two endangered species backwoods salamander larvae. Flatwoods are very rare, from 2000 their population has made a huge decline in the U.S southeast. There are many reasons and causes for the decline of the flatwood salamanders. With that, many of the Flatwoods habitats are being destroyed, and there longleaf pines are their only natural territory that remains. Mostly Flatwoods hibernate underground but during the winter, humans are setting fire and burning the species homes, and killing them.

wellbeing of the frog and what happened to the frog after it was used. People today are more cautious

Many weekend warriors are forced to seek pain management therapy in Frisco, TX after overdoing it in their favorite competitive sport or thrilling weekend activity. However, there are simple steps that you can take to prevent injury so that you never miss a beat.

In the rain forest of Tabasco, Southern Mexico, professors Rüdiger Riesch and Martin Plath set foot to find the Atlantic molly, a beautiful fish native in Mexico. They are not some ordinary fish, in fact, they thrive in toxic waters that are unimaginable to think at first. Specifically in the small creek of El Azufre, where the milky waters are full of hydrogen sulfide, which are able to kill just about everything, including us humans. These so-called, super-animals, have adapted to live in these dangerous waters.

Just last year, some researchers stated that the extinct aquatic animal, the ‘Tully Monster’ was a vertebrate, possibly a relative of today’s lampreys. Like a mismatched puzzle, the Tully monster lacks some vertebrate pieces and has others that are the wrong shape, researchers and colleagues report in the March issue of Palaeontology. (Palaeontology includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environment, their paleoecology).

More animal species are added to the Endangered Species List that are threatened by extinction every year. Animals’ extinction is caused by human activities or natural causes. Unexpected amounts of animals are considered to be critically endangered and near extinction. Unfortunately, the Axolotl also known as the “water monster” or the “Mexican Salamander” is critically endangered and can only be found in Lake Xochimilco, south of Mexico City. Mexico is home to 373 amphibian species. It is placed fifth with the largest amount of amphibian diversity among the richest countries.

This species habitat is the longleaf pine-wiregrass flatwoods. The adult salamanders eat earthworms, insects, and are likely to eat other invertebrates as well. The larvae eat a variety of aquatic invertebrates, especially crustaceans. The Flatwood Salamander’s population is roughly several thousand, and is decreasing. Part of the community that the salamanders live in consists of decaying logs, vegetation, earthworms, and insects. Part of the ecosystem that they live in consists of decaying logs, vegetation, earthworms, insects, crayfish burrows, forest fires, and shallow ponds.

The author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because amphibians that look dissimilar to fish were discovered in 365 million year old rocks, while fish without amphibian characteristics were discovered in 385 million year old rocks. Thus, it is possible that the evolutionary intermediary, or the “missing link” between fish and amphibians, would be discovered in 375 million year old rocks, between the two time periods. The rocks examined were sedimentary in composition, as the gradual and relatively gentle formation of sedimentary rock under conditions of mild pressure and low heat are conducive to the fossilization of animal remains. Sedimentary rock is also often formed in rivers and seas, where animals are likely to live. This site provides a resource that describes means by which fossils are formed and how the fossil record may be interpreted, and shows some examples of fossils demonstrating evolution through geological periods: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord.htm. In 2004, Shubin and his colleagues were looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island, in northern Canada. This location was chosen because of its lack of human development, as well as of obstructing natural formations and life forms such as trees, which

The most effective way to prevent them from going through extinction is to restore and augment their environment. One of the greatest causes for their endangerment is the shrinking of the Houston toad’s habitat, either through fires or urbanization. Their main home, Bastrop State Park, was devastated by an immense fire, greatly decreasing their numbers. By fixing the burned forest, it gives the toad more land to live which will leave them in a vulnerable status. In other words, the more the habitat there is, the more Houston toads there will be. Many organizations such as the U.S Fish and Wildlife Services and Houston zoo have joined the fight to help these creatures.

Frogs, toads, caecilians, and salamanders are the members of the class Amphibian (amphi- meaning “on both sides” and bios- meaning “life”). These members always require water for reproduction. Most Amphibians undergo metamorphosis, which is a usually degenerative pathological change in the structure of a particular body tissue. And, in the case of Amphibians, it is the changing of a tadpole into