Besieged tadpoles
send chemical alert
Tadpoles of red-legged frogs release
ammonium when disturbed by predators, warning other tadpoles of danger
nearby.
References:
Kiesecker, J.M., et al. 1999. Identification of a disturbance
signal in larval red-legged frogs, Rana aurora. Animal Behaviour
57(June):1295.
Further Readings:
Mlot, C. 1997. Water link to
frog deformities strengthened. Science News 152(Oct. 11):230.
Raloff, J. 1998. Common pesticide
clobbers amphibians. Science News 154(Sept. 5):150.
Sources:
Lee B. Kats
Pepperdine University
Natural Sciences Division
Malibu, CA 90263
Joseph M. Kiesecker
Yale University
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
370 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Richard J. Wassersug
Dalhousie University
Department of Anatomy and Biology
1355 Oxford Street
Halifax, N.S. B3H 4J1
Canada
From Science
News, Vol. 155, No. 24, June 12, 1999, p. 375.
Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
