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ROLE OF THE EGG JELLY COAT IN PROTECTING HYLA REGILLA AND BUFO CANORUS EMBRYOS FROM ULTRAVIOLET B RADIATION DURING DEVELOPMENT
Citation:
Hansen, L J., D. L. Fabacher, AND R. Calfee. ROLE OF THE EGG JELLY COAT IN PROTECTING HYLA REGILLA AND BUFO CANORUS EMBRYOS FROM ULTRAVIOLET B RADIATION DURING DEVELOPMENT. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH. Ecomed Verlagsgesellschaft AG, Landsberg, Germany, 9(6):412-416, (2002).
Impact/Purpose:
To determine whether the egg mass jelly provides photoprotection to the developing embryos.
Description:
Previous studies have suggested that Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation may play a role in amphibian population declines. Some of these studies also indicate that egg hatching success is unaltered in some species of anurans as a result of UVB exposure. It has been proposed that the egg mass jelly provides photoprotection to the developing embryos. Based on the results in this study however it seems unlikely that the egg jelly coat is playing a crucial role in protecting developing embryos from the impact of UVB radiation. Direct spectrophotometric scans of egg jelly, scans of egg jelly methanol extracts, and experimental manipulation in a solar simulator during development all demonstrated that it is unlikely that Hyla regilla egg mass jelly is acting in a photoprotective capacity. In addition, experimental manipulation with Bufo canorus egg masses in a solar simulator demonstrated that egg mass jelly played no role in photoprotection of this species either.