Optical characteristics of natural waters protect amphibians from UV-B in the US Pacific Northwest
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| Authors: | Palen, WJ; Schindler, DE; Adams, MJ; Pearl, CA; Bury, RB; Diamonds, SA |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Journal: | Ecology 83: 2951-2957 Article Link (DOI) |
| Title: | Optical characteristics of natural waters protect amphibians from UV-B in the US Pacific Northwest |
| Abstract: | Increased exposure to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation has been proposed as a major environmental stressor leading to global amphibian declines. Prior experimental evidence from the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) indicating the acute embryonic sensitivity of at least four amphibian species to UV-B has been, central to the literature about amphibian decline. However, these results have not been expanded to address population-scale effects and natural landscape variation in UV-B transparency of water at amphibian breeding sites: both necessary links to assess the importance of UV-B for amphibian declines. We quantified the UV-B transparency of 136 potential amphibian breeding sites to establish the pattern of UV-B exposure across two montane regions in the PNW. Our data suggest that 85% of sites - are naturally proiected by dissolved organic matter in pond water, and that only a fraction of breeding sites are expected to experience UV-B intensities exceeding levels associated with elevated egg mortality. Thus, the spectral characteristics of natural waters likely mediate the physiological effects of UV-B on amphibian eggs in all but the clearest waters. These data imply that UV-B is unlikely to cause broad amphibian declines across the landscape of the American Northwest. |
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