Frogs: The Animal Answer Guide

12. “Frogology”

128 Who studies frogs? Many laypeople are interested in and enjoy studying and learning about the biology of frogs and other animals to increase their appreciation and understanding of the natural world. Scientists usually study frogs either to learn about frogs or to learn about a general scientific phenomenon, using frogs as model organisms. Most scientists who study frog biology refer to themselves as herpetologists. In general, herpetologists conduct scientific research on amphibians and reptiles (i.e., snakes, turtles, lizards, crocodilians , salamanders, frogs), but many herpetologists focus their studies on only one group and, in some cases, on only one species. Recognizing declines in frog and toad populations worldwide since the 1980s has dramatically increased the numbers of scientists studying these species over the past few decades. Numerous scientists have begun investigating various causes of frog and toad declines. Mike Lannoo of Indiana State University has been at the forefront of much of the research conducted in North America on amphibian declines and has authored or edited several books, including Amphibian Declines, a massive tome that details the conservation status of every species of amphibian in the United States. Lannoo also authored Malformed Frogs: The Collapse of Aquatic Ecosystems, which focuses on the potential importance of frogs with gross malformations and what these malformations can tell us about the ecological integrity of our environment. Ray Semlitsch of the University of Missouri has studied amphibians during his entire career and recently edited Amphibian Conservation in which experts in various fields address critical issues related to the ecology and conservation of amphibians. Karen Lips at the UniverChapter 12 “Frogology” 129 “Frogology” sity of Maryland has focused much of her work on understanding factors that can cause declines in amphibian populations, especially chytrid fungus that has annihilated many frog populations in the American Tropics. Lips and her collaborators have been at the forefront of showing how severe declines in frog populations from disease can have cascading effects on other parts of tropical ecosystems. Some herpetologists focus on understanding the evolution and diversity of frogs and toads. Typically, these people consider themselves systematists or taxonomists, and they focus on understanding the variations found among many types of frogs and toads and how they should be recognized and grouped as species so that the groupings match their evolutionary history . Most modern systematists use genetic characteristics as their primary tool for understanding relationships among species, although earlier morphological studies used to differentiate among species, genera, and families have been extremely useful. Many new species, primarily from the Tropics worldwide, are still described each year. Unfortunately, in many cases, new species are already on the verge of extinction. Many frog and toad species have already gone extinct because of human-induced causes scientists are now discovering. Numerous resources are available to the layperson and scientist to aid in studying the biology of frogs. Darrel Frost of the American Museum of Natural History has been a leader in the field of evolutionary relationships among frog groups and has taken the lead on a project called Amphibian Species of the World, an online project (http://research.amnh.org/vz/her petology/amphibia/) that strives to maintain up-to-date information about diversity and evolutionary patterns of amphibians so that professionals can use information for conservation and other research purposes. David Wake at the University of California at Berkeley coordinates another major online project called AmphibiaWeb (www.amphibiaweb.org), which provides detailed information on the biology and conservation of many known species of amphibians worldwide. Why do scientists study frogs? People study frogs for a variety of reasons. Some scientists study frogs because they are interested in frog biology and want to understand how they live and respond to their environment. Such information is critical when developing effective conservation plans for frogs, and, unfortunately, for many species, we know so little about their basic biology that developing methods to ensure their conservation is difficult. Most scientists that study frogs only study one aspect of their biology. For example, ecologists that study frogs focus most likely on field studies of frogs in natural envi- 130 Frogs: The Animal Answer Guide ronments. Physiologists that study frogs specialize on examining how the frog’s body works and how it responds to external conditions. Many scientists may not study frogs because they are primarily interested in frogs, but they are instead exploring general phenomena for which frogs make good...