Persistent Organic Pollutants in Blanchard's Cricket Frogs (Acris Crepitans Blanchardi) from Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Biology, St. Mary's University ; Department of Herpetology, Toledo Zoological Society ; Department of Biology, Lakehead University ; Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of WindsorPopulations of Blanchard's cricket frog are in precipitous decline in the northern periphery of their range. Factors contributing to this decline are unclear; however, environmental contamination with persistent organic pollutants has been proposed to explain these losses. We analyzed Ohio cricket frog tissues for a range of chlorinated organic pollutants and found significant differences in tissue concentrations of these contaminants between collection sites. We propose that environmental chemical contamination may in part be responsible for the decline of Blanchard's cricket frog in the northern section of their range