Science weblog

Amphibians are an interesting class of animal that live on both land and water. They can venture onto land, but need water to survive. They are cold-blooded invertebres, and are very sensitive to changes in their environment. Many amphibians are considered "indicator species", meaning they reflect the status of the environment. For example, an abundance of salamanders can indicate a healthy, thriving ecosystem. Or perhaps the presence of a frog species can mean something is unbalanced, perhaps an over saturation of something and vice versa. A color change of local newts can even indicate ecosystem status. This is such an incredible function, natures' build in alarm system. But because they are so sensitive to change, humans inevitably wipe them out without even realizing it. While some animals can move elsewhere or have the ability to tolerate change, many amphibians cannot. Humans have sadly wiped out roughly 7000 species of amphibians. With this, I encourage you to be mindful of where you dispose your waste. Don't wash your paints down the sink, dispose of your batteries properly, small things like that can be the difference between life and death for the amphibians in your ecosystem. If you've made it this far, thankyou for your time. Let's make a better Earth together.

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Eastern Red-Spotted Newt | Mountain Lake Biological Station, U.Va.