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ESTIMATION OF UV-B EXPOSURE IN AMPHIBIAN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS
Citation:
Diamond, S A., G T. Ankley, AND P. C. Trenham. ESTIMATION OF UV-B EXPOSURE IN AMPHIBIAN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS. Presented at 52nd Annual Meeting of the North American Benthological Society, Vancouver, BC, June 6-10, 2004.
Description:
Estimation of ultraviolet radiation B (UV-B; 280 to 320 nm wavelenghts) dose is essential for determining whether UV-B contributes to amphibian population declines and malformations. UV-B dose in wetlands is effected by location, time of day and year, atmospheric levels of ozone, aerosol, particulates, and water vapor, elevation of the local horizon, and water-column attenuation. These components of UV-B dose were incorporated into two studies; a risk assessment for UV-B effects in midwestern amphibians, and a landscape-level comparison of amphibian distributions with estimated UV-B doses in selected U.S. National Parks. . . . Results indicate that UV-B levels found to effect amphibians in controlled experiments were unlikely to be reached in studied wetlands. In the landscape study, there was also little evidence that UV-B has negatively affected amphibian oppulations within studied wetlands.