You may have noticed that many of our publications and promotional material now features a cheerful frog. We have chosen the frog as our mascot as he helps us to demonstrate the global issues associated with our energy and water use.
Frogs and Energy use
The use of energy (from fossil fuels) releases pollutants into the atmosphere which are affecting our global climate. This Climatic Change is often seen as a warming trend across the globe which may have a devastating affect on the populations of many frog species around the world.
Warmer annual temperatures are helping fungal parasites to stay alive throughout the year which is already having a profound affect on frog populations in the tropics. In addition, warmer temperatures are
• already resulting in species migration up mountainsides and moving towards the poles
• warmer air temperatures are reflected over time in warmer water temperatures, but warmer waters are less able to support abundant life as it holds less Oxygen, affecting both the ability of frogs in their early life stages (spawn and tadpoles) to breathe and reducing the levels of prey available.
Frogs and Water use
The changing climate is not the only problem our energy use could be causing frogs; other polluting issues include:
• Acidification of water as a result of increasing Carbon Dioxide and Nitrous Oxide levels which in turn are absorbed by water to form acids – frogs absorb the water they need to live directly from their watery environments and the reproductive cycle allows them to breathe under water too. The affects of changes to water acidity on frog populations are not known but may pose a serious threat. Acidifcation can also negatively affect the existing plant life, reducing their ability to photosynthesise and increasing mortality.
• Oxygen depletion from increasing Nitrogen levels in water (some of which comes from Nitrous Oxides produced as a by product of burning fossil fuels) increases plant growth. If this additional plant growth restricts light levels (by floating on the surface) it blocks underwater plants from receiving daylight, preventing photosynthesis and therefore oxygenation of the water.
Both can result in plant death and decay which further reduces oxygen levels. Any animal that requires oxygenated water, including tadpoles (and fish) are adversely affected by this.
In addition, changing rainfall patterns and water availability could affect the availability of water which is needed by frogs in order to reproduce. This could reduce reproductive timescales in some years and potentially prevent reproduction in other years. .
