(MY) frogs

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Tuesday April 25, 2006 - The Star

 

Where have the frogs gone?

 

THE fact that frogs are hard to spot these days in Tasik Chini confirm

fears of people like Bishan Singh that the lake ecosystem is being

severely degraded.

 

Frogs are " bio-indicators " ; they indicate the health of ecosystems

that they inhabit. If they disappear from a habitat, or if they do not

sing, or if they become deformed, chances are the area is polluted and

its resources dwindling.

 

Frogs are good barometers of the environment because: they have

permeable skin, therefore will easily absorb pollutants; lay their

unshelled (hence vulnerable) eggs in water; and live on both land and

in water, at different stages of their lifecycles.

 

" Frogs are commonly used as bio-indicators in places like Africa and

the United States. In Africa, some streams are so polluted that the

frogs there are deformed. In Malaysia, we haven't done any study on

the correlation between frogs and ecosystems but it's possible that

frogs are disappearing because of an unhealthy environment, " said

retired zoologist Dr Lim Boo Liat.

 

Frog populations throughout the world are declining due to habitat

destruction, environmental contamination, fungal infections, diseases,

harvesting, predation by introduced species and genetic damage by

elevated levels of ultraviolet radiation and pollution.

 

When frogs disappear, the whole ecosystem is affected. Animals that

prey on frogs – such as foxes, bats, rats, birds, fish, raccoons,

turtles and snakes – will go hungry. On the flip side, insects and

other pests that frogs eat could suddenly proliferate. Snakes too are

part of the natural food chain and their disappearance as a result of

an imbalance in the ecosystem does not bode well.