U.S. Plans Study on Frog Deformities

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said Thursday it will survey 43 federal wildlife refuges to gather information on whether pesticides and other pollutants might be causing deformities in frogs.

An increasing number of frogs and toads have been found in recent years to have severe deformities without any clear indication of what might be causing these malformed amphibians.

The study at the wildlife refuges will focus on what effect pollutants might have on frogs, with the findings to be turned over to an interagency group studying the issue, said Fish & Wildlife Service officials.

“What’s happening to these amphibians, and what their plight can tell us about our own environment, are some of the questions the [agency] plans to find out,” said Fish & Wildlife Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark.

Scientists have been studying a variety of possible causes for the decline of the frog population and the large number of reported deformities.