Effects of ultraviolet radiation on boreal toads in Colorado
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Abstract
Field exposures of Bufo boreas embryos to fractions of ambient UV-B radiation at two sites in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, were conducted to evaluate UV-B as a possible cause of recent severe declines of this species. There were no differences in hatching success of B. boreas embryos exposed to 0–100% of ambient UV-B radiation at either study site, results that are different from those of recent studies in Oregon that found increased mortality of B. boreas embryos exposed to ambient UV-B. The reasons for these differing results are not apparent, and several possible explanations exist, including differences in experimental design, presence or absence of a pathogenic fungus, and geographic genetic variation. Bufo boreas embryos were probably not receiving higher doses of UV-B radiation during the experiments in Oregon compared to the experiments in this study. Results of this study do not support UV-B radiation alone as the cause of the decline of B. boreas during the past 20 yr in the southern Rocky Mountains, but UV-B cannot be dismissed because of the contradictory results from other studies.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Effects of ultraviolet radiation on boreal toads in Colorado |
| Series title | Ecological Applications |
| DOI | 10.1890/1051-0761(1998)008[0018:EOUROB]2.0.CO;2 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Year Published | 1998 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Ecological Society of America |
| Description | 9 p. |
| First page | 18 |
| Last page | 26 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| Other Geospatial | Rocky Mountain National Park |