http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/06/28/legless-frogs-mystery-solved/ Photos, Stories and articles on East Asia Sun, 21 Mar 2010 13:54:22 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/06/28/legless-frogs-mystery-solved/comment-page-1/#comment-407294 Mike Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:28:44 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=4434#comment-407294 The study by Ballengee and Sessions puts forward an interesting potential explanation for some types of frog deformities. Unfortunately, their research fails to live up to the media hype; it does not solve the mystery of deformed frogs. In the laboratory, they found that some dragonfly larvae will remove limbs of tadpoles. However, Ballengee and Sessions did not actually test the predictions of the dragonfly hypothesis with rigorous data from the field. For example, a clear prediction of their hypothesis is that as the frequency of dragonfly larvae in wetlands increases, the frequency of missing-limb deformities in those wetlands is also expected to increase. Ballengee and Sessions did not test this prediction. Testing such predictions is a fundamental component of science. Until there are well-designed studies that examine the relationship between dragonfly density and frogs with missing limbs in nature, the relative importance of the role of predation in amphibian deformities will remain unknown. The study by Ballengee and Sessions puts forward an interesting potential explanation for some types of frog deformities. Unfortunately, their research fails to live up to the media hype; it does not solve the mystery of deformed frogs. In the laboratory, they found that some dragonfly larvae will remove limbs of tadpoles. However, Ballengee and Sessions did not actually test the predictions of the dragonfly hypothesis with rigorous data from the field. For example, a clear prediction of their hypothesis is that as the frequency of dragonfly larvae in wetlands increases, the frequency of missing-limb deformities in those wetlands is also expected to increase. Ballengee and Sessions did not test this prediction. Testing such predictions is a fundamental component of science. Until there are well-designed studies that examine the relationship between dragonfly density and frogs with missing limbs in nature, the relative importance of the role of predation in amphibian deformities will remain unknown.

]]> http://www.mutantfrog.com/2009/06/28/legless-frogs-mystery-solved/comment-page-1/#comment-388370 k Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:41:00 +0000 http://www.mutantfrog.com/?p=4434#comment-388370 And don't forget about metabolic by-products of pharmaceuticals, which are usually excreted in urine. US stats seem to indicate leading contaminants are psychiatric drugs and human hormones such as estrogen, levonorgestrel, and testosterone. . And don’t forget about metabolic by-products of pharmaceuticals, which are usually excreted in urine. US stats seem to indicate leading contaminants are psychiatric drugs and human hormones such as estrogen, levonorgestrel, and testosterone. .

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