| | Accession Number | 5002942 |
| | Title | A review and synthesis of the biology of North American amphibian larvae and biology |
| | of tadpoles |
| | Project Description | The tadpoles of anuran amphibians are important components of aquatic systems and serve as |
| | major elements in energy transfer from aquatic to terrestrial habitats. In addition, tadpoles are |
| | significant links in the aquatic food chain, especially in ephemeral wetlands. Basic research with |
| | tadpoles has increased tremendously in the past 15 years and important aspects of their basic |
| | ecologies are better known. Yet, application of this knowledge has been hampered by the lack of |
| | a readily available synthesis of their morphology, ecology, behavior and diversity and by difficulty |
| | of identifying tadpoles in the field. This project will provide a synthesis of the biology of anuran |
| | larvae to facilitate their use in various kinds of research, both basic and applied. This synthesis |
| | will take the form of a major reference that brings together all information on the biology of these |
| | unique organisms. A different but related project will synthesize the extensive, scattered scientific |
| | literature on the biology of North American amphibian larvae and provide keys, morphological |
| | descriptions, and illustrations of all North American species to allow their identification in field |
| | conditions. |
| | Keywords | amphibian larvae, declining species, identification keys, inventory and monitoring, larval ecology, |
| | species at risk, tadpole diversity, tadpole morphology, viability, |
| | Principal | Roy McDiarmid, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: Roy_McDiarmid@usgs.gov; |
| | Investigators |
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