Deformed green Frog, Rana clamitans
Yale University Ecology Professor Dr. David Skelly conducts disease research focused on limb deformities in amphibians. The leading suspected cause of deformities involves infection by Ribeiroia ondatrae, a trematode. Exhaustive sampling in Vermont has failed to turn up any evidence of Ribeiroia demonstrating that high frequencies of deformities can occur over a large area in the absence of infection by Ribeiroia ondatrae. These findings leave open the issue of what is causing deformities in Vermont and other regions where Ribeiroia is absent. One possibility, exposure to chemical pollutants, is supported by an association between the risk of deformities and the proximity to agricultural sites.
Size: 5340px × 3563px
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT. USA
Photo credit: © Michael Doolittle / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: abnormalities, abnormality, amphibian, amphibians, chemical, clamitans, david, deform, deformed, deformities, deformity, ecological, ecology, environmental, field, frog, frogs, genetic, green, horizontal, indicator, infection, leg, limb, mutation, ondatrae, outdoor, pesticides, pollutant, pollution, professor, rana, ribeiroia, skelly, species, toxin, toxins, trematode, vermont, vt, wood, yale
