The effects of acid rain on the development of Rana clamitans melanota.

Abstract

There are many concerns over the effects that humans have on the environment. One major concern is the effect of acid rain on water communities. Amphibians are a good indicator of the possible deleterious effects of acid rain because of the permeability of their skin. Tadpoles were used in our experiment to measure the relative rate of growth in different levels of acidity. Our results show, that for the local area near Pellston, Michigan, that the acidity levels of pH 6 and pH 7 had no effect on development among and within tadpole populations, except for tadpoles collected from Sedge Point.