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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page paper that discusses the causes of the dramatic decrease in the numbers of amphibians in Australia and Central America. The essay describes a study conducted by a group of scientists who not only found the cause of the declining population but who discovered a new fungus. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGfrogsdie.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
sort of environmental cause. Investigation has shown that the declining population appear to progress "temporally and geographically consistent with an epidemic" (Berger, et.al, 1998; p. 9031). Several etiologies were proposed
and investigated over the years but none were substantiated. The researchers proved there was indeed a specific pathogen at the root of the problem -- a parasite in the phylum
Chytridiomycola. This is the first member of the phylum Chytridiomycota that has been recognized as a parasite of the phylum Vertebrata (Berger, et.al., 1998). Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to determine the specific cause of the declining numbers of amphibians, especially in Western Panama and in Australia. Methods The investigators collected large
numbers of dead and ill anurans in Big Tableland, Queensland, Australia and in the Fortuna Forest Reserve in Western Panama. Those collected during 1993 and 1994 were the last affected
specimens seen in these regions. Specimens also included adult frogs, tadpoles and toads which had been bred in captivity and held in large open collections that also experienced a high
mortality rate at about three weeks after the tadpole metamorphosed into a frog. Additionally, the investigators had toeclips from examinations of frogs prior to the infection. The experimenters used a
variety of solutions to fix frogs for the purpose of keeping the specimen sterile and preventing unwanted variables into the study. They collected samples for bacteriology and mycology using swabs.
To test for viruses, the researchers froze samples of different organs. For scanning electron microscopy, they fixed the skin with 2.5 percent glutaraldehyde then postfixed it in 1 percent osmium,
tetroxide, dehydrated, critical point-dried, sputter-coated with gold and used a high power scanning electron microscope. DNA was taken from ethanol-fixed scrapings of skin from two wild frogs that were already
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