This week we're watching the Nature video The Thin Green Line and you're also getting the "Chasing Phantoms" article to read. Both the video and the article take a look at declining amphibian populations and give multiple reasons for the decline.
After watching the movie and reading the article, I'd like you to reflect on the following:
- What did you find most surprising? Most interesting? Most disturbing?
- Why should we care about amphibian populations?
- How does this amphibian research relate to humans?
- Consider all the different research projects you saw and read about. If you had the opportunity to work in amphibian research, which of these projects would you choose to join in on, and why?
- Anything else you'd like to add??
I never thought people would ever keep frogs in a big room and take care of them. I think its really nice that people take time out of there life to be able to care and re populate the frogs. We should all care because its part of the food chain, and these frogs are interesting. I would choose to join in on taking care of the frogs and helping re populate them, its important to have them because they are part of the food chain. They go other animals will go.
ReplyDeleteI found it very surprising that middle school kids were interested in these frogs. It was interesting that they had found so many deformed frogs in the pond and it was very disturbing to me. I think that we should all start taking action and start trying to find out what truly is happening to all these amphibians and try and stop it. It relates to us humans because we are also responsible for the decline in amphibians. We are killing frogs to ether eat them or dissect and clearcutting the forestes is killing many amphibians to. I would join in on the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force (DAPTF) because i want o find out what all the reasons are for the decline in amphibians and put it to a stop. I found this article shocking because i had no clue that Amphibians have been declining so much and that there were deformed frogs, it really makes me feel bad for the frogs.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most surprizing about this film was that the pesticides used to fertilize and grow food is going into lakes and swamps that frogs live in I thought it was really disturbing that the frogs living in that water now have deformities and birth defects. We should care about amphibian population because they belong to this world to and were treating them unfairly by not caring about the pesticides and and things being put in the water like flushing pills down the toilet and other things that all go to where the frogs live. Its relative to humans because first of all the pesticides that are harming the frogs and deforming them are being used to grow our food with thats horrible! If i joined amphibian research I would want to take care of the frogs and help them grow up so i could feel like I actually know them and raised them then I think I'd be really into trying to stop the pollution in there living water because i would be so close to the frogs that I would really care and want to do a lot to help!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I wasn't aware of how quickly amphibian, so everything we were seeing was a shock to me. The most disturbing thing is how little public outreach there is for funding of different programs for wildlife preserves and other conservation efforts. We should care about all forms of life, because they're all just as important as us and we were gifted with the ability to make a difference. Unfortunately, as of late everything we have done has had negative results on wildlife and the environment. It sounds bad to say but I don't think I would join any of the frog efforts although I like to consider myself a humanitarian I would be more interested in doing something else. Mostly because I would rather volunteer for the WWF and work with larger mammals I've never really had an interest in frogs.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article "Chasing Frogs and Phantoms: The Mystery of Amphibian Declines" I was surprised to learn that Amphibians are often looked to as a signal of possible and threatening changes in our environment. Amphibians are particularly sensitive to shifts in their environment, pollution and small water changes. Something that barely impacts a larger animal may be able to be seen more clearly on an amphibian. The reason their sensitivity may actually be helpful to humans is that it can give scientists an opportunity to foresee bigger changes that could impact larger animals and even ourselves. Since amphibians must keep their skin moist at all times, it also makes their skin more sensitive to and dependent upon the locations water quality. A lot of the frog mutations and population declines can be contributed to poor water quality and pollution of the water. Amphibians are also suspected to have more sensitive reactions to global climate change. Similarly if scientists can look to the amphibians I think that we can really get and insight into future problems and early ways to reverse those predicted issues.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to choose to work in amphibian research, I would want to investigate water sources and water qualities. I would research the frogs in areas of known poor water, or frogs near areas or recent water pollution. How can we help these frogs to become more adaptable to fluctuations in water consistency? And how can we create laws and regulations against larger pollutant companies to protect amphibians sanctuaries, and to protect amphibian populations?
The biggest surprise for me was the fungus. The video was the first introduction I had to the deadly disease, and I had no idea that it was aiding in the extinction of many frog species.
ReplyDeleteWe should care about amphibian populations for the obvious ethical reasons, but it goes beyond that. Amphibians are vital in the continuation of natural food chains; without amphibians many other species will disappear. The tadpoles consume algae in the pond, and without them the growth can become substantial. Frogs are also at the center of many food chains. Without frogs some species of snakes will go extinct.
Frogs are the ultimate indicator species. Because of their method of gas exchange, they remain extremely sensitive to every little change in our air quality. If frogs are dying off in a certain area, it may tell us something about the air quality or pollution levels in that region.
The project I would choose to work on is breeding a species back to the wild. The only frogs left in some species were the ones in captivity. By releasing them into the wild, they will see which ones die and which ones live. Although there may only be two out of five-hundred, those two are resilient to the disease that is killing off the rest of the species. By breeding and re-breeding these resilient frog species, the species as a whole will become resilient to the fungal bacteria lurking in the water systems.
I found that the spread of the fungal bacteria, which seemly no one can stop, both the most interesting and the most disturbing at the same time. What I found most surprising what that no one had come up with an idea of how the fugal bacteria spreads as the best defense against the fungi would be to understand how it spreads and reproduces.
ReplyDeleteWe humans should care deeply not just for the amphibian populations but for all animal population as each one plays a key role in the biodiversity of the Planet. But to ignore the needs of the amphibian populations can only be devastation to the world ecosystems.
Amphibian research relates to humans in many more ways than many people realize. From behavior, to evolutionary traits, to chemical secretions the Amphibians can offer many new abilities to Human studies.
If I had the choice I would join any research team that got to go into the field. I love camping/hiking/living in the wild and field work would be exciting and hands on.
- What I found most disgusting was the deformities in the frogs. Although it was interesting to hear about the gender switching mutations. I like the whole thing about people taking precautions to try and save the frogs from extinction.
ReplyDelete- We should care about the frog population because, like a society, in an ecosystem we need everyone to function properly. If we lose the frogs then insects would rise in population and the frog's predators would die off (then their predators, then their predators, etc.).
- The research relates to humans because not only is it better to understand the things around us but also frogs can serve as an indicators of how well the environment is doing.
- I would choose to be a part of the frog sanctuary that tries to protects them against the fungal disease. I would choose this because I think that it is nice what they are doing and I wold love to be with them researching.
My recent exposure to amphibians has opened my eyes to how important they are to our environment, and how we need to protect them. Amphibians keep our ecosystem in tact, their role on the food chain maintains security for humans as well as other species. Watching The Thin Green Line, and reading the article informed me about declining amphibian populations. Both sources reported that amphibian species were either endangered or vulnerable, as much as 25%. This wasn’t too surprising to me. I found all the causes for the decline in amphibians really interesting. Global warming had a part in the population drop. The atmospheric warming raised the height at which condensation begins. This means, that the clouds containing mist pass over the mountains, instead of through, meaning less moisture for the amphibians.
ReplyDeleteLearning about the lethal chytrid fungus was rather disturbing. The article discloses that chytrid is the first such fungus to harm vertebrates. That means that it could infect humans too perhaps. So far, chytrid has exterminated over 14 species of frog. The scary part is we don’t know where the killer came from, or how to stop it. There are small laboratories trying to cure frogs of the contaminant, but those efforts are fairly impotent. Scientists can only cure frogs one by one, which is ineffective when it comes to stopping a widespread disease. Scientists also don’t know where in the environment is safe to put frogs. Is everywhere contaminated? They have to be very careful to disinfect all clothes and lab equipment when they go from one environment to another, to eliminate the chance of spreading the disease.
I find it most disturbing that humans are a key cause for dispatching frogs. Fertilizers and insecticides contain poisonous chemicals that end up in local ponds, deforming frogs. In some suburban neighborhoods, where the ponds are the tailpipe for pollution, roughly one in three frogs are deformed. I find it heartbreaking that we are murdering an innocent species. Deforestation also plays a key role in devastating frog populations. After an area is clear cut, it takes 50 to 70 years for forest salamander populations to recover. (Youth) I was surprised to hear that the frogs taken for school dissection would affect the populations. Apparently, around 10-12 million frogs are killed for dissection. I feel this is unacceptable—scientists shouldn’t be endangering a species for research, they know better than that.
If I had to pick an amphibian organization to work for, I would pick the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP). I like this organization because it monitors amphibian populations worldwide. Monitoring is a good idea instead of just jumping into action. We have made much progress over the last few decades with information on amphibians, but there is still a lot to learn. I don’t want us to be responsible for making the problem worse. Monitoring them will give us more knowledge about the animals, and then we will be able to analyze the information and then take action.
What I found that was most disturbing was how the frogs were deforming, and I also found that the gender switching was kinda interesting.
ReplyDeleteWe should care for the amphibian populations because it wrecks the food chain. They each play a key role.
They relate to humans by how everything changes. Also people can learn about frogs, or from them.
I would be breeding a species back to the wild. I would pick this one because breeding the amphibians and bringing them back into the wild would give people research, and they can tell what types are surviving and which ones aren't.
I found it interesting that the class only took back 3 frogs. I think if they were so interested and curious about why these frogs were deformed they would have collected more for experiments. I think it was disturbing that these things can go under the radar for long periods of time, enough for these species to become that deformed, before someone notices it. Just like any other species, amphibians play a huge role in the food chain, therefore we need to pay just as much attention to them as any other group of species. If something in one part of the food chain gets disrupted the rest of the food chain suffers from it in one way or another. The way they do research on the amphibians is like human research because when one thing, such as the fungus that was harming the frogs, once one catches it the disease can spread to many other frogs just like human diseases.
ReplyDeleteI found it surprising how so many people realize the frogs and their decline in the world today. Usually you don't think about frogs and if there are depleting or not because we live in Maine and we see them all them time. However in other parts of the world, it's a different story. I found it interesting how the native people of South America would catch the Golden frogs as good luck charms. There had been so many before so why now just start to collect them? It disturbed me to watch the mutations the frogs had. I thought it was just really weird to see them have several limbs and what not. We should care about amphibian population because they are in the middle of the food chain and if they cease so will several other species along with it. This relates to humans because humans need frogs because if frogs are suddenly disappearing then that means something is changing and we need to find out what that change is. If I had to join a research, it would probably be video taping them and researching them to see how they act with other and their environment.
ReplyDeleteI found it both surprising and disturbing how many frogs were actually found with deformities. I didn't know it was that common. We should care about amphibian populations because they are a big part of the food chain, and they are easily effected by changes in their environment, many of which we are making. We should care about amphibian populations because they are a big part of the food chain, and they are easily effected by changes in their environment, many of which we are making. This research helps us to get the best idea we can of what is happening to their landscape and what we may need to do to help. I would want to be a part of the NAAMP, because it helps reliably keep track of the status of different populations from different areas by collecting long-term data, and I think it's an effective way to get more information.
ReplyDeleteI found it most interesting that kindred is found literally all over the world, where ever there is frogs. I dont understand how one virus can cover that much distance. I was very disturbed to hear about the amounts of pesticides we consume on our foods, and that they are doing so much damage to the environment. We should care about amphibian populations because they are a crucial part of our environment. They keep food chains in tact and we have very much to learn from them. Their skins secrete special chemicals that science has found to be very useful in new medications. This information could be crucial humans for the medical break throughs. I would love to be apart of a repopulating group, like the couple in panama treating the affected frogs, or the couple in australia that are breeding and re releasing the frogs. I am grateful that at least some people are making an effort, and I'd love to thank them.
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ReplyDeleteWhat did you find most surprising? Most interesting? Most disturbing?
The hand motions! I thought that was the coolest thing ever! Something that was surprising was how the larva can escape from a predator even when they are still in the embryo! Most disturbing thing in the movie was to see all the dead frogs n the pool. It was very sad.
Why should we care about amphibian populations?
They are a part of the circle of life! They were here before us! We should care because we are part of the reason they are dying out. With out frogs that leaves other animals without food. They could get sick without the right foods and then where would we be? Just in an endless circle of death and sadness.
How does this amphibian research relate to humans?
They think some of the chemicals some frogs reproduce can help we humans with certain illnesses that there is nothing for at the moment.
Consider all the different research projects you saw and read about. If you had the opportunity to work in amphibian research, which of these projects would you choose to join in on, and why?
If they were still doing it I would want to get to watch the life of the golden frog! I think that would be so cool to observe. Sadly they are all now rounded up so documenting has stopped.
Anything else you'd like to add??
The movie was very fascinating over all I really liked it!
I wasnt aware how much the Amphibians were getting wiped out, them being a very important role in our ecosystem. They have systems that are like humans so if we study them we can understand about ourselves. Anything that involves going into the field to work because I love camping and hiking and just being outside.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to hear that more then a third of frog population has declined. I found it really interesting that us humans in cars take more of a tole on amphibians then we think. It is disturbing to think that we are the reason for species becoming extinct and continuing to. I hate how we put trout in lakes and ponds and they take over and eat all the frogs around. I hadn't heard about the fungus kitrid before this video and it's scary to think something like it could come to us. We should care more about the amphibian populations because they are apart of our world and contribute.
ReplyDeleteI would love to be part of the Yosemite group because they are trying to solve the case of kitrid and trying to save the lives of these frogs.
I am surprised that fungus is actually killing a frog, I thought they lived in unclean waters for protection from fish and such. It is interesting that the frogs can't live with this fungus. I think it is very disturbing that frogs are going extinct. We should care about amphibians because most of them feed the freshwater that we fish for and eat. Amphibians relate to humans because we have the same digestive system as them. If I studied frogs and their habitats, I would study study the habitats and see what else could possibly be killing off frogs.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found most surprising was how many amphibians are dying. What I found most interesting was the study on chytrid. Although it was a very bad thing for the frogs it was interesting to learn about. The most disturbing was how many frogs would die each year between pollution and bacteria.
ReplyDeleteWe should care about amphibians because they are a large part of the ecosystem. They are very abundant, but they also eat certain bugs and small animals to keep them from over populating.
The amphibians research relates to humans because humans are the ones killing or mutating frogs. Like with the atrazine in the midwest, frogs are being mutated and are not able to reproduce. People should really pay attention to what is happening.
I would work with Tyrone Hayes on the Atrazine effects on frogs. First of all he can rap (and it’s awesome), I also learned a bit about this from another student in my APES class and it seems like a very interesting topic.