Amphibian Declines and UV Radiation

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a natural component of sunlight. Concern over its effects on animal populations stems from reported increases in the transmission of UV radiation to the earth's surface. Ultraviolet radiation transmission can fluctuate and vary for many natural reasons but has generally increased on Earth due to anthropogenic depletion of stratospheric ozone.

Numerous field studies and laboratory studies have demonstrated that ambient UV-B radiation adversely affects the development of many amphibian eggs and larvae (summarized in Blaustein and Belden 2005) which may in turn reduce amphibian populations. However, to date, no study has conclusively linked UV radiation to long-term decreases or observed declines in amphibian populations.

For more information about amphibian declines and UV radiation, please use our resource viewer below.
Resources on Amphibian Declines and UV Radiation
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Collapse100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species
Description: Part of the Global Invasive Species Database. A list of one hundred species selected to collectively illustrate the range of impacts caused by biological invasion. Includes species description, taxonomy, habitat, impacts, uses, notes, geographical range, management information, nutrition, reproduction, lifecycle stages.
Resource Type: Checklists and Identification Guides, Life Histories and Species Profiles
Resource Format: URL
Publisher: The World Conservation Union ( IUCN ), Species Survival Commission ( SSC ), Invasive Species Specialist Group ( ISSG )
CollapseA Molecular Phylogenetic Study of the Genus Ribeiroia (Digenea): Trematodes Known to Cause Limb Malformations in Amphibians
Description: The species Ribeiroia cause severe limb malformations and elevated mortality in amphibians. In order to get a better understanding of this species, specimens were collected for research from much of their known range.
Resource Type: Issue Overviews, Journal Articles
Resource Format: PDF, URL
Publisher: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO), a department in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder
CollapseA New Threat to Frogs
Description: This document provides an overview of amphibian malformations and the U.S. FWS division of environmental quality efforts to understand the phenomenon such as determining if there is a relationship between contaminants and malformations. The document describes the difference between malformations and deformities and facts about common malformations and images of amphibian malformations.
Resource Type: Image Galleries, Issue Overviews
Resource Format: URL
Publisher: United States Fish and Wildlife Service
CollapseA Survey of the Grand River National Grassland for Baird's Sparrows, Sprague's Pipits, Burrowing Owls, and Other South Dakota Sensitive Bird Species
Description: This report describes 2001 surveys of the Grand River National Grassland in northwestern South Dakota. The focus of the surveys were sensitive bird species, but other wildlife species were recorded as well.
Resource Type: Research Reports and Summaries
Resource Format: PDF
Publisher: United States Forest Service
CollapseA Survey of the Herpetofauna of the Comanche National Grasslands in Southeastern Colorado
Description: Report of activities conducted in 1995-1997, provides baseline data on the occurrence and relative abundance of 36 species of amphibians and reptiles in the Grasslands. Includes recommendations for management of R-2 species and arguments for conservation of herpetofauna.
Resource Type: Journal Articles
Resource Format: URL
Publisher: United States Geological Survey
CollapseAlabama Inventory List
Description: A list of the rare, threatened, and endangered species in the state of Alabama. Listed by common and scientific names, along with global, federal, and state species status ranks.
Resource Type: Checklists and Identification Guides
Resource Format: PDF
Publisher: The Internet Archive
CollapseAmazon Alive: a decade of discovery 1999 - 2009 (PDF, 60 pp., 3.10 MB)
Description: This report celebrates the unique and fascinating species that can be found in the Amazon. This fact has been supported not least by the extraordinary wealth of new species discovered there between 1999 and 2009. Some 1,200 new species of plants and vertebrates were discovered in the Amazon biome in this period.
Resource Type: Research Reports and Summaries
Resource Format: PDF
Publisher: WWF
CollapseAmbient UV-B Radiation Causes Deformities in Amphibian Embryos
Description: The authors monitored hatching success and development in long-toed salamanders under UV-B shields and in regimes that allowed UV-B radiation. Embryos under UV-B shields had a significantly higher hatching rate and fewer deformities, and developed more quickly than those exposed to UV-B.
Resource Type: Case Studies, Journal Articles
Resource Format: PDF
Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
CollapseAmphibian Chytrid Fungus Broadly Distributed in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest (PDF, 8 pp., 237.74 KB)
Description: Abstract: To investigate the occurrence of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Brazil, we conducted histological screenings of 96 preserved specimens of anurans collected at 10 sites in the Atlantic rain forest. Data show this fungus to be widely distributed. Infected specimens included Colostethus olfersioides (Dendrobatidae), Bokermannohyla gouveai and Hypsiboas freicanecae (Hylidae), as well as Thoropa miliaris and Crossodactylus caramaschii (Leptodactylidae), extending the area of B. dendrobatidis occurrence in Brazil approximately 1,600 km N, 200 km S, and 270 km E. The altitudinal range of the chytrid is broad, spanning from less than 100 m to about 2,400 m (Parque Nacional do Itatiaia). Widespread occurrence of B. dendrobatidis in the Atlantic Forest adds to the challenge of conserving an already endangered biome given the potential risk of further local biodiversity loss.
Resource Type: Journal Articles
Resource Format: PDF
Publisher: James Cook University of Australia School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
CollapseAmphibian Decline Phenomenon
Description: Explanations and hypotheses to reason why there is major amphibian declines worldwide.
Resource Type: Issue Overviews
Resource Format: URL
Publisher: University of California, Berkeley
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