Reeves Mari K, Dolph Christine L, Zimmer Heidi, Tjeerdema Ronald S, Trust Kimberly A
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage Fisheries and Ecological Services Office, Anchorage, Alaska 99501, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Aug;116(8):1009-14. doi: 10.1289/ehp.10963.
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.
In this study we investigated the relationship between anthropogenic influences and the probability of skeletal and eye abnormalities in Alaskan wood frogs (Rana sylvatica).
From 2000 to 2006, we examined 9,269 metamorphic wood frogs from 86 breeding sites on five National Wildlife Refuges: Arctic, Innoko, Kenai, Tetlin, and Yukon Delta. Using road proximity as a proxy for human development, we tested relationships between skeletal and eye abnormalities and anthropogenic effects. We also examined a subsample of 458 frogs for the trematode parasite Ribeiroia ondatrae, a known cause of amphibian limb abnormalities.
Prevalence of skeletal and eye abnormalities at Alaskan refuges ranged from 1.5% to 7.9% and were as high as 20% at individual breeding sites. Proximity to roads increased the risk of skeletal abnormalities (p = 0.004) but not eye abnormalities. The only significant predictor of eye abnormalities was year sampled (p = 0.006). R. ondatrae was not detected in any Alaskan wood frogs.
Abnormality prevalence at road-accessible sites in the Kenai and Tetlin refuges is among the highest reported in the published literature. Proximity to roads is positively correlated with risk of skeletal abnormalities in Alaskan wood frogs.
两栖动物的骨骼和眼睛异常尚未得到充分了解，而且在全球两栖动物种群数量下降的同时，这些异常情况似乎在增加。在此，我们展示了对阿拉斯加两栖动物异常情况的首次研究。
在本研究中，我们调查了人为影响与阿拉斯加林蛙（Rana sylvatica）骨骼和眼睛异常概率之间的关系。
从2000年到2006年，我们检查了来自五个国家野生动物保护区（北极、伊诺科、基奈、泰特林和育空三角洲）86个繁殖地点的9269只变态期林蛙。我们以与道路的距离作为人类发展的替代指标，测试了骨骼和眼睛异常与人为影响之间的关系。我们还对458只青蛙的子样本进行了检查，以检测吸虫寄生虫 Ribeiroia ondatrae，这是一种已知的两栖动物肢体异常的病因。
阿拉斯加保护区骨骼和眼睛异常的发生率在1.5%至7.9%之间，个别繁殖地点高达20%。靠近道路会增加骨骼异常的风险（p = 0.004），但不会增加眼睛异常的风险。眼睛异常的唯一显著预测因素是采样年份（p = 0.006）。在任何阿拉斯加林蛙中均未检测到R. ondatrae。
基奈和泰特林保护区道路可达地点的异常发生率是已发表文献中报道的最高水平之一。靠近道路与阿拉斯加林蛙骨骼异常的风险呈正相关。
