FYI: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Blain Anderson Trails/GIS Specialist National Park Service 240 West 5th Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99501 907.644.3577 ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
THE ANCHORAGE PRESS Vol. 15, Ed. 10 March 9 - March 15 2006 FLASHLIGHT Our frogs are croaking As amphibian populations decline worldwide, Alaska biologists are taking a closer look at local frogs and toads. Their initial findings suggest that Alaska's amphibian population may be dwindling, too, and that among the remaining frogs and toads, cases of physical abnormalities are fairly high. “Alaska has one of the highest rates of abnormal frogs in the U.S.,” said Dave Tessler, wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The problem was recently described in an article by Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Riley Woodford, published in the Juneau Empire March 5. It can be difficult for biologists to determine whether an abnormality is a malformation, which implies a developmental problem, or a deformity, meaning the abnormality occurred naturally (a leg munched off by a predator, for example). Even so, said Tessler, “we still probably have a high rate of malformed frogs.” Tessler and other regional and national biologists met at the second Alaska Amphibian Conference in Juneau last month to discuss the state's amphibians and to develop standardized ways to observe them and categorize their ailments, among other issues. You may be surprised, as Flashlight was, to learn that Alaskan amphibians even exist. We've been here six years and haven't seen so much as a tadpole. But the boreal toad (Bofus boreas) resides on the southern edge of Prince William Sound and southward, and the wood frog (Rana sylvatica), lives in Southcentral and Interior Alaska; they're Alaska's most common and widespread amphibians. Frogs can be found almost anywhere in Alaska in standing water for most of the summer, Tessler said, including “a four-wheeler track, a puddle, a pond, a lake, or standing water on the side of the road.” The wood frogs only make noise while breeding, though, Tessler said, and if they're not making noise, you're probably not going to be able to spot them. Amphibian enthusiast Tim Shields has been observing boreal toads in Haines, where he lives, for the last 10 years. About four years ago he and a small group of people began monitoring several breeding ponds in the area. Shields said he believes a massive decline of the boreal toad occurred during the late 1980s or early '90s. “Old-timers say prior to that, you would see thousands of toads in the spring, and now they're relatively uncommon.” Scientists aren't sure what's caused Alaska amphibian populations to decline and abnormalities within them to rise. Some suspect a chytrid fungus is the culprit. Tessler says he wonders whether Alaska winters might be involved, as wood frogs freeze then and thaw in the spring, which could be stressful. Other possible causes, according to Tessler, include the contamination of waterways and wetlands, changes in ultraviolet radiation, and disease. Tessler and others have developed a citizen-based frog-watch group, the Alaska Wood Frog Monitoring Project. They need volunteers (individuals, families, groups or clubs) to help observe wood frogs in their natural habitat between specific dates in April, May and June. For more info, go to www.akfrogs.net. - Lori McAllister
