Charles Darwin University physiological ecologist Chris Tracy knows more about the urinating habits of frogs than most people, although that is not why he began frog watching.
About two years ago Dr Tracy was researching temperature regulation in frogs near Alice Springs when he noticed the 2cm-long electronic tracking devices he and team mates implanted in the 8cm-long frogs were not where they left them.
"I chase frogs around the bush and something interesting happened in this case," Dr Tracy said.
Then the researchers found - through a bit of surgery - the jelly bean sized transmitters were in the frogs' bladders.
"At first we thought it was a little bit odd because we didn't think we put them in the bladders of the frogs," Dr Tracy said. The team found it had happened with three different but closely related native species, so they carried out trials on cane toads using beads and dissected them after a few days to see the progress. Dr Tracy believes tissue comes from the frog's bladder and engulfs a foreign object, pulling it into the bladder as protection against sharp bits from the insects they eat, which could puncture their digestive system. It could also protect against thorns or sharp objects piercing their thin skin when they land from a jump. Because the bladder is so big - to store water - foreign objects are likely to come into contact with it.
"Frogs get around by jumping and they have relatively thin and soft skin and can be kind of clumsy when they land," he said. "If you watch closely when a frog jumps they kind of crash land most of the time. It's certainly the most bizarre thing that I have discovered."
DAVID WOOD
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/12/09/199631_ntnews.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!