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Request for Information on Deformed Amphibians

Joseph Tietge

US Environmental Protection Agency
Mid-Continent Ecology Division
6201 Congdon Blvd
Duluth, MN 55804
email: EPAJET@DU4500.DUL.EPA.GOV

Based on discussions at the workshop, reports of amphibian deformities can be useful to help document the nature and scope of these phenomena. We request that all reports of deformed amphibians be given to the appropriate state or provincial agency. So, please contact them if you have noticed any deformities in amphibians or other wildlife species.

If you have not seen deformed amphibians, please don't go sampling on your own. The reasons that the workshop participants reached this conclusion are:

-Unnecessary sampling could be adverse to amphibian populations,
-Widespread sampling by the public could result in unnecessary wetland habitat disturbances, and
-Data collected by untrained individuals may not meet the objectives of future studies.

If you are interested in helping, then please contact your local state/provicinal agency or university to see if there is a program in your area that can use the help.

In addition to contacting your state or province so they can verify your reports, please post your observations (both situations where you have found deformed individuals and, just as importantly, where you have not).

Thanks for your cooperation!

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Laurel, MD, USA 20708-4038
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/naamp3/naamp3.html
Contact: Sam Droege, email: Sam_Droege@usgs.gov
Last Modified: June 2002