Outdoor Pursuit Journal: November 2013

Today Ronja and I presented our Amphibian project. It went really well. People said that they really enjoyed it, they didn't know that amphibians were so important. Ronja and I thought that the presentation was suppose to be 20 minutes of presenting then discussion. Nope! It was suppose to be 10 minutes of talking and ten minutes of discussion. But since we went first it doesn't matter, we were the guinea pig. But, over all it was a success!
Here is what we said:

Ronja: To begin our presentation I would like everyone to close their eyes. Now, imagine a life with no frogs, toads, salamanders, newts. Not one amphibian. Now please open your eyes. Is this what you imagined? Without amphibians bugs would be everywhere. But what else could happen? At the rate we are going in damaging our environment we might soon find out. But hopefully we can avoid that. Today in our presentation we will inform you about amphibians, why they are so important, why they are declining, and how we can help. So, let’s hop on to it.

Cara: We will begin our presentation with a quick video clip.

Ronja: Amphibians are a group of animals that live both on land and in water. Amphibians are divided into three groups: frogs with about 6 000 species, salamanders with about 600 species and caecilians with about 200 species. They exist for around 250 million years already. They are capable of allowing liquids, gases and salts through their skin. Their skin is very permeable. Because of this physical characteristic they have the ability to intake chemicals from both the atmosphere and bodies of water. With this ability they are very valuable biological indicator. A biological indicator, also known as bioindicator, is an animal that represents how healthy an ecosystem and food chain are. If the ecosystem has a problem, for example people are draining the water source, or it is infected with a chemical, then the bioindicator, in this case the amphibian, will die or be forced to leave the area. When the bioindicator is gone from the ecosystem, this shows that the area is unstable environmentally. Besides that the water quality where they live can affect their growth, development and survival.

Cara: Not only are amphibian’s excellent bioindicators, but they also get the special privilege to be a sentinel species which is related to being a bioindicator or an indicator species. Which mean what effects them now, may affect other organisms later which also includes humans. For example, at the rate we are polluting our world, the amphibians are dying off. If we continue to pollute our world like we are currently, then we will be effected negatively as well. And the human population will decline like the amphibians population. But there are a lot of other environmental problems that will eventually also have an impact on our life such as pesticides in water and habitat destruction. Now that we have reminded ourselves of what amphibians are, let’s find out why they are important to us.

Ronja: Amphibians aren’t only necessary for unforgettable fairy tales, but also for sustainable ecosystems. Amphibians are right in the middle of the food chain. Amphibians eat insects such as spiders and mosquitos. If we kill off the amphibians because of our selfish ways, then the population of bugs will rise to an all-time high. Just like the pictures at the beginning of the slide show. With the rise of the insect population, diseases such as Lyme disease and malaria will have no problem being transported to people and infecting us. Moreover frogs are a source of discovery in science and medicines for ages. Especially their skin is used often in medicine, also almost every species has their own compound that is used to defend predators and can act as pain relievers and antibiotics. Also they provide a lot of knowledge that could be discovered in the future. We need amphibians for our own health’s sake.

Cara: The rise of the bug population is the one side of the food chain, but animals that eat amphibians will decline too. Because amphibians are in the middle of the food chain, they eat and also get eaten. Animals like mammals, birds, fish and snakes are examples of what will eat amphibians for dinner. But with no amphibians to eat they will starve, or move to the next available animal in the chain. They will change their food chain. But when they do that they make it so there is less food for the animal that ate that food originally. Thus declining both animal species. For example, if all the amphibians from an ecosystem die or leave, then the animal that ate them, let’s say a blue heron, will have to change its food chain and begin to eat the small fish from the pond. The kingfisher which originally ate the small fish with no completion now has to compete with the blue heron for food. This will bring down the population for both birds.

Ronja: Amphibians aren’t only necessary for the other animals in the habitat, but also very important to us. When they are very young, just hatched from their egg they swim to the algae and eat it. When they eat the algae they are helping us by cleaning the water. But because of the UVB rays and chemicals leaking into the water the amphibians won’t hatch from their eggs, so they won’t clean our water, costing us way more money and time. Nothing anyone of us wants to give up.

Cara: And lastly they are biological indicators, like we said before. With the amphibians dying off all over the world, not just in a few habitats, it is obvious that we have a worldwide issue on our hands. That amphibians are declining is a clear sign that highly negative environmental changes are happening that are going to threaten almost every other animal species and especially humans. This extinction of life on earth could be the begin of a worldwide extinction if we do not react immediately. To sum up what we have shown you, we have found another small clip.

Ronja: Obviously amphibians are important for the wellbeing of the ecosystems and ourselves. Now we have to ask ourselves one question in order to solve the amphibian decline: why are they declining? They are declining for a variety of reasons. Scientist started to observe amphibian extinction in the 1980’s and already more than 200 species have disappeared completely. Reasons for that such as pesticides, herbicides, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, non-native species, industry exhaust, contamination, radiation, fragmentation, disease, toxic substances and change in the use of the land. Pretty much what ever alters the eco system in the slightest, will harm amphibians. Because of their permeable skin they absorb many different substances. It is hard for them to hide from pollutants because they live their live on both land and water. Chemicals like fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides enter the ecosystem by being washed down from agricultural farms, and into the water source. The most common around the world is an herbicide called Atrazine. Atrazine is an herbicide that is capable of creating female sex organs in a male frog, let that sink in…and also helps with the decline of salamanders. It only takes 0.01 parts per billion to have this occur. Atrazine became so common in the past few years that it was already found in drinking water. The Great Crested Newt is greatly affected by run off herbicides.

Cara: Another way of disturbing the ecosystem of amphibians is by changing it completely. And one way of doing that is by building right on top of it. First people will drain the water from the area, then fill up the hole and pave cement all over it. You took away an amphibian’s habitat in three easy steps. But, some of you are thinking that sometimes they leave ponds in an area. And you are most certainly right. But the issue with that is sometimes they will park the trucks, or put supplies there, packing down the earth to make it impossible for the amphibian to borough into the earth.

Ronja: The next problem is the isolation of certain species because there are no larger contiguous ecosystems anymore and species are more threatened in isolation of other species they could interact with and grow. Also, when you are building houses by an amphibian’s habitat you will most likely cutting down the trees in the surrounding area. By doing this you will be taking away the valuable shade that amphibians need in order to survive. The shade keeps the water at a certain temperature for all the organisms to thrive on. Without the shade the temperature rises, making the amphibians sick. The shade also limits the amount of UVB rays that can enter the water. UVB rays, like we said before, are very damaging if too much gets onto an amphibians egg. With the deforestation in the Application Mountains many species like the Jordan’s Lungless Salamander are declining. Over all, destruction of habitat is the number one reason amphibians are being endangered.

Cara: But, that is in a public area any one can get to. Why don’t we just create a conservation area to keep amphibians safe? Well, like we said before there is water runoff, and there is also acid rain that transports chemicals from the air, or from far away and bring them to the area or protection. This problem won’t be that easy to solve.

Ronja: Also, with the climate changing it is getting hotter. The bodies of water where the amphibians live have been drying off because of this. But, endangering the amphibians isn’t only from altering their habitat. When we remove them completely from their habitat is also bad. For example, people will remove them in order to have food, a pet or to use for educational purposes. By doing this you are taking one more important amphibian out of the world, and killing it for your own needs. Also, if you transport an amphibian to much it is more likely to get in contact with a fungus called Chytridiomycosis. It reacts with their skin and is very lethal. Diseases, sometimes brought into a habitat by introduced species, are another important reason for amphibian declines. Especially in populations that just live in one spot on earth or do not have a lot of representatives in their species are highly endangered by diseases that can extinct this certain species. Here is another small video to remind you of how they are being endangered.

Cara: Overall Amphibians are declining in a variety of different ways, and we have the power to stop it. In the past few decades we have seen a trend of amphibians dying. And in the next 20 to 50 years it is a huge possibility that a big part of the amphibian population will be gone. So, how can we change this from happening? We can do this in many different ways. To start we have to educate ourselves, and the people around us. By doing this we will understand more about our slimy friends and what they need to thrive. Next we have to get the word out about the problem. We need people who others look up too. The more people get involved with saving amphibians the more attention this topic will get. Then the government may take a look at the issue.

Ronja: You can also help fundraise. There are many sites to help save any type or amphibian. People dedicate their lives to this matter. I think we made it pretty clear that you shouldn’t use pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. The Yellow Legged Frog in California’s Central Valley is greatly affected by these chemicals. If we all work together we can achieve the impossible! Here is a video to give you more ideas.

Cara: In conclusion, we need to work as a team for anything to be solved. So, today we talked about amphibians, their importance, why they are declining, and how to help. But, I bet there is still at least one person in this room who doesn’t care if they see all the frogs gone. They are slimy, and not pleasant to look at. But would you rather look at a frog every once and a while, or, would you rather be swarmed by bugs everywhere you go. Oh, and by the way, you probably won’t live to see that happen. And what happens to amphibians will eventually happens to us, bugs are not going to be the only issue to deal with.

Ronja: Amphibians are not a special problem: they represent the way we treat our world, animals and plants on it at the moment. If we keep going the way we are on now, we’ll soon face the extinction of 30 % of the approximately 7.000 amphibians, which would mean the most serious extinction of amphibians since 10.000 years ago. In Ontario already 8 of 27 amphibian species have a threatened status. There are tons of animals out there, endangered species and problems to deal with. Let’s pick one and solve it. Here is our last video and then we will have our three discussion questions.

Ronja: Now that we are done, is there any questions?

Cara: Discussion question:

1) Have any of your views on amphibians changed? Why or why not?

2) What other animals do you feel are under appreciated, and why?

3) What is the most dangerous problem amphibians have to deal with in your opinion? Is this also going to infect us? How can we help?

4) What did you take with you from our presentation?

Thrilling huh?
Here is the Prezi: http://prezi.com/zvcsicgiwow5/amphibians-the-most-amazing-presentation-by-cara-livingsto/
There you have it! Our amazing presentation on AMPHIBIANS! I had a blast learning about it, because I went into it hate amphibians, now I have found a new respect for them. They are amazing!

Last week Mr. Heasman told us to think about a project topic. I thought about coral reefs, and the bees disappearing. Then I thought of all the different things that we taught in Earthkeepers when I was in CELP. I remembered Mr. Barr talking about how amphibians are disappearing at an alarming rate. And I knew this would make for an excellent project topic. I found a partner, Ronja, and we told Mr. Heasman our idea. He gave us this funny look, then said something along the lines of-"Do you think that will captivate an audience? Go think of some more ideas." Se we did. Meanwhile people were going up to him saying they want to do their projects on topics like plastic water bottles, nuclear waste and so on. They were all getting the nod. How is plastic water bottles more interesting then amphibians? Maybe it's just me...
Anyway, I ended up just telling him that we are doing ours on amphibians, without him saying yes or no. I found out a lot of information on the topic. Like did you know that the fate of the amphibians right now, will be out fate in the future? Huh? I am just scared that our presentation will suck. Oh well, what can you do.
Ronja and I present first on Monday. I must admit, I can't wait till we are done! Mr. Heasman said that since we go first he will be the easiest on us. Meanwhile the people who go last (Parker, Robbie, Scott and Raymond) get the hardest marking because he gives tips after each day. So, there is a plus, I guess.

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