| cd, cu, zn, se, and metallothioneins in two amphibians, necturus maculosus (amphibia, caudata) and bufo bufo (amphibia, anura). | the accumulation of cadmium, its affinity for metallothioneins (mts), and its relation to copper, zinc, and selenium were investigated in the experimental mudpuppy necturus maculosus and the common toad bufo bufo captured in nature. specimens of n. maculosus were exposed to waterborne cd (85 μg/l) for up to 40 days. exposure resulted in tissue-dependent accumulation of cd in the order kidney, gills > intestine, liver, brain > pancreas, skin, spleen, and gonads. during the 40-day exposure, concen ... | 2012 | 22700180 |
| applying fuzzy logic to comparative distribution modelling: a case study with two sympatric amphibians. | we modelled the distributions of two toads (bufo bufo and epidalea calamita) in the iberian peninsula using the favourability function, which makes predictions directly comparable for different species and allows fuzzy logic operations to relate different models. the fuzzy intersection between individual models, representing favourability for the presence of both species simultaneously, was compared with another favourability model built on the presences shared by both species. the fuzzy union b ... | 2012 | 22629142 |
| rhabdias esculentarum n. sp. (nematoda: rhabdiasidae) from green frogs of the rana esculenta species complex in italy: molecular evidence, morphological description and genetic differentiation from its congeners in frogs and toads. | a new taxon, rhabdias esculentarum n. sp., is described based on dna sequence analysis at multiple loci (i.e. mtdna cox-1, 12s rrna, its-1 and partial its-2 regions of the nuclear rdna) and morphometric analysis carried out on specimens collected from the green frogs of the rana esculenta species complex in italy (i.e. r. lessonae camerano and r. esculenta linnaeus, identified genetically by diagnostic allozyme loci). rhabdias esculentarum n. sp. was differentiated genetically, at both mitochond ... | 2012 | 22581250 |
| preventive effects of jiedu granules combined with cinobufacini injection versus transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in post-surgical patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a case-control trial. | to investigate the therapeutic effects of jiedu granules, a chinese medicine (cm) compound, plus cinobufacini injection, which was extracted from skin of bufo bufo gargarizans cantor, to prevent the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) after surgical resection. | 2012 | 22549390 |
| hormonal induction of spermatozoa from amphibians with rana temporaria and bufo bufo as anuran models. | the use of hormonally induced spermatozoa expressed in urine (hisu) is a valuable component of reproduction technologies for amphibians. five protocols for sampling hisu from the european common frog (rana temporaria) were compared: (1) pituitary extracts, (2) 0.12 µg g⁻¹ luteinising hormone-releasing hormone analogue (lhrha), (3) 1.20 µg g⁻¹ lhrha, (4) 11.7 iu g⁻¹ human chorionic gonadotrophin (hcg) and (5) 23.4 iu g⁻¹ hcg (g⁻¹ = per gram bodyweight). from 1 to 24h after administration we asses ... | 2012 | 22541548 |
| biobanked amphibian samples confirmed to species level using 16s rrna dna barcodes. | the dna barcoding technique is often used as a tool for validating species identity in biobanks. in the case of amphibians, the mitochondrial dna (mtdna) 16s ribosomal rna (rrna) gene is reported to fulfill the requirements of a universal dna barcoding marker. the 16s primers are designed to specifically bind to the 16s rrna gene, which is a very well-conserved mtdna gene sequence in amphibians. dna was extracted from thirteen known but different species of amphibians within the zoological socie ... | 2012 | 24849750 |
| checklist and simple identification key for frogs and toads from district iv of the mada scheme, kedah, malaysia. | a survey was conducted to catalogue the diversity of anurans in district iv of the muda agriculture development authority scheme (mada) in kedah darul aman, malaysia, from july 1996 to january 1997. eight species of anurans from three families were present in the study area. of these, the common grass frog (fejevarya limnocharis) was the most abundant, followed by mangrove frog (fejevarya cancrivora), long-legged frog (hylarana macrodactyla), and common toad (duttaphrynus melanostictus). puddle ... | 2009 | 24575178 |
| apoptosis-inducing effect of cinobufacini, bufo bufo gargarizans cantor skin extract, on human hepatoma cell line bel-7402. | cinobufacini, a water-soluble preparation of chinese medicine, is extracted from the skin of bufo bufo gargarizans cantor. the present study sought to investigate the effects of cinobufacini on apoptosis of the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line bel-7402. cell viability was measured by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay. cell morphology was observed by hoechst 33258 staining. western blotting analysis was used to detect bax and bcl-2 expression. results indicated that cinobufacini inhibited the ... | 2008 | 22504743 |
| non-behavioural interference competition between anuran larvae under semi-natural conditions. | two major types of indirect competition have been recognised in natural communities, notably scramble for resources and interference to gain advantage by various alternative mechanisms. interference effects are however often difficult to demonstrate in the field and their significance in nature requires more extensive study. larvae of the anurans bufo bufo and bufo calamita compete strongly both in the field and in the laboratory, with the former species generally superior to the latter. under l ... | 2001 | 24549905 |
| digoxin overdose: clinical features and managementvanessa bara discusses the risk factors, antidotal therapy, and management of digoxin toxicity. | digoxin is a digitalis glycoside extracted front the leaves of the plant digitalis lanata. more commonly known as grecian foxglove. the digitalis glycosides are present in many plants including digitalis purpura (foxglove), nerium oleander (oleander) and convallaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley). they are also found in some toads, such as bufo bufo-bufo (european toad). digitalis glycosides are believed to have been used for therapeutic benefit in the first century ad. more recently, detailed des ... | 2001 | 27731735 |
| competition between bufo larvae in a eutrophic pond. | competition between larvae of two anuran species (bufo bufo and b. calamita) was investigated under field conditions likely to disfavour cell-mediated interference mechanisms. the experiment used triplicated cage treatments in an unshaded farm pond, a poor habitat for the unicellular pathogen anurofeca richardsi implicated in interference competition between these anurans in sand dune ponds. the farm pond experienced lower maximum temperatures than a nearby dune pond but sustained larger numbers ... | 2000 | 28308410 |
| impacts of climate and density on the duration of the tadpole stage of the common toad bufo bufo. | in an ongoing long-term study of a breeding population of common toads bufo bufo at a pond in southern england, the dates of first spawning have been recorded since 1980, the dates of toadlet emergence since 1984, and the numbers of emergent toadlets estimated since 1988. the dates when spawn was first laid varied considerably between years from the earliest on 2 february 1993 (day 33) to the latest on 19 march 1996 (day 79). the duration of the tadpole stage was negatively correlated with the d ... | 1999 | 28308318 |
| the effect of winter temperatures on the timing of breeding activity in the common toad bufo bufo. | a 19-year study of a common toad population in south dorset, uk, was carried out between 1980 and 1998. the daily arrival of sexually mature male and female toads at a breeding pond was recorded each year. the timing of the main arrival of toads at the breeding pond was highly correlated with the mean daily temperatures over the 40 days immediately preceding the main arrival. when the temperatures were higher than average, breeding occurred significantly earlier in the year than if they were eit ... | 1998 | 28307671 |
| the effects of density, rainfall and environmental temperature on body condition and fecundity in the common toad, bufo bufo. | the body length and body weight of all adult common toads (bufo bufo) breeding at a pond in south dorset were measured between 1983 and 1993. each toad was placed into one of four categories depending on its sex and whether it was either a first time breeder or an animal that had previously bred. the body condition of each male and female toad for each year was compared with the average body condition of all the male and female toads captured over the 11 years of the study so that between-year d ... | 1995 | 28306888 |
| the basis of niche separation during terrestrial life between two species of toad (bufo bufo and bufo calamita): competition or specialisation? | two congeneric anurans with highly overlapping geographical ranges, bufo bufo and b. calamita, were investigated with respect to isolating mechanisms during the terrestrial phase of life in the three habitat types in which both species occur in britain. marked spatial niche separations were observed in all three habitats (coastal dunes, upper saltmarshes and lowland heaths). b. bufo was associated with complex, dense vegetation structures and had a relatively wide niche, while b. calamita had a ... | 1994 | 28313635 |
| testosterone binding sites in the brain, plasma sex hormones and reproductive behaviour in males of the toad bufo bufo. | the central action of steroid hormones of the regulation of reproductive behaviour has been recognized in amphibia, as in, other vertebrates. central and peripheral endocrine aspects of reproductive behaviour were studied in the toad bufo bufo during the breeding aspects of reproductive behaviour were studied in the toad bufo bufo during the breeding (dht) and estradiol (e) levels. in the first experiment the effect of early and late entrance into the breeding pond and the difference between ani ... | 1993 | 24896714 |
| negative effects of rhabdias bufonis (nematoda) on the growth and survival of toads (bufo bufo). | the growth and survival of juvenile toads, bufo bufo, infected with a common lung nematode, rhabdias bufonis, were studied. toads were raised from tadpoles in the laboratory and infected 2 months after metamorphosis. individual toads were exposed to doses of 10, 40, 80 or 160 larvae, which enabled examination of the hypothesis that parasite-induced mortality is affected by worm numbers. growth of infected toads began to diverge from that of uninfected controls at 6 weeks post infection (wpi) and ... | 1992 | 28312868 |
| central and peripheral endocrine correlates of the immobility reaction in the toad bufo bufo. | the immobility reaction, which may be regarded as an innate fear response, has been observed in several animal species including amphibians. its endocrine correlates were established in the newt triturus cristatus and in the toad bufo bufo, in which the duration of immobility is influenced by sex and mating. the aim of the present study was to investigate the possibility of a relation between immobility reaction and central hormonal receptors. testosterone (t) binding capacity in the brain and p ... | 1991 | 24896424 |
| types of supernumerary outgrowths produced after inverting the dorsoventral limb axis of the anuranbufo bufo. | contralateral grafts were performed on the larval limb buds of the anuranbufo bufo. the dorsoventral axis of 80 buds at stages iv or v was inverted. ten tadpoles were used as controls. fifty-two supernumerary structures developed, all of them in dorsal or ventral locations on the host stump. the majority (32 out of the 44 outgrowths with more than 3 toes) were normal limbs of stump handedness. however, the following abnormal structures were also observed: 2 double-posterior, 3 mixed-symmetric, a ... | 1991 | 28305773 |
| suspension feeding of anuran larvae at low concentrations of chlorella algae (amphibia, anura). | ingestion and filtering rates in larval xenopus laevis, bufo calamita, rana temporia and bufo bufo fed suspensions of chlorella fusca were investigated. concentrations were measured with a coulter counter. (1) for all species, filtration occurred at concentrations far below those reported by other authors for rana sylvatica feeding on chlorella pyrenoidosa. for bufo bufo, only larvae near metamorphosis showed ingestion at low particle concentrations. since buccopharyngeal ventilation continues e ... | 1990 | 28312552 |
| seasonal changes in the migratory behaviour of the toad bufo bufo: direction and magnitude of movements. | the migratory behaviour of the toad bufo bufo was studied from february 1985 to april 1986 in the submontane region of bavaria, west germany. toads were fitted with a mechanical tracking device to record individual paths of migration. three aspects of migratory behaviour were quantified: orientation in relation to the breeding site, straightness of path, and locomotory activity. the annual activity period began with migration from the hibernation sites to the breeding pond in april. the paths we ... | 1988 | 28312019 |
| experimental study on the origin of pancreatic endocrine cells in the toad bufo bufo l. | ablation, transplantation and culture experiments were used to determine the respective roles of the pancreatic dorsal and ventral anlagen in the formation of the endocrine cells. three successive waves of endocrine formation occur in the pancreas of bufo bufo at three developmental stages (iii6, iv1 and iv2). each wave is derived from a different source: the first originates from the dorsal anlage, the second from the exocrine tissue of the cortex of the pancreas and the third from the pancreat ... | 1988 | 28305560 |
| organogenesis and differentiation of the pancreas in the toad bufo bufo l. | in bufo bufo at stage iii6 the first endocrine islets appear in the part of the pancreas corresponding to the dorsal anlage. at stage iv2, 5 days later, the pancreatic duct develops and new islets arise by budding off from the ductal epithelium. the ultrastructural study of the secretory granules morphology of endocrine cells has distinguished four different cell types: b-cells (stage iii9), a-cells (stage iv3), d-cells (stage iv3) and a fourth type not yet identified (stage iv3). by immunocytol ... | 1988 | 28305559 |
| spawn predation and larval growth inhibition as mechanisms for niche separation in anurans. | we have investigated interspecific interactions between larvae of the 3 native british anurans, rana temporaria, bufo bufo and b. calamita in the field and in the laboratory. over a 3 year period, predation of b. calamita spawn by the two competitively superior species accounted for only 0.3-3.0% of the total deposited in the dune pools of the study site. however, in ponds with marked niche overlap destruction of natterjack spawn was often 100%. furthermore, growth rates of b. calamita larvae su ... | 1987 | 28312520 |
| question of "head preference" in response to worm-like dummies during prey-capture of toads, bufo bufo. | if a black worm-like dummy is moving against a white background, toads fixate and snap at the leading end of the stimulus. this "head preference" phenomenon is - within limits - independent of (i) background structure, and (ii) stripe length. "head preference" can be disturbed by reducing the amount of the stimulus background contrast as well as by point structures incorporated in the worm-like shape of the stimulus. if the stimulus-background contrast of the worm dummy is reversed, toads exhibi ... | 1982 | 24923495 |
| mortality in a population of bufo bufo resulting from the fly lucilia bufonivora. | in the summers of 1972 and 1973, in an area of inland dunes in the netherlands, and estimation was made of the percentage of amphibians that was killed by infections caused by lucilia bufonivora. it appeared that only bufo bufo was preyed on. in the two years of the investigation an average of 8% of the toads found was infected. the flies selected their prey according to their size. predation took place in every habitat of the study area. | 1980 | 28309542 |
| linnaeus' peloria: the history of a monster. | the so-called peloria case has been discussed repeatedly in world literature since the discovery of the five-spurred linaria in 1742 and its description by linnaeus in 1744. in 1742 a young uppsala botanist found a peculiar specimen of the common toad-flax (now named linaria vulgaris l.) on an island in the stockholm archipelago. the plant, which had spread vegetatively, possessed five spurs instead of one spur, a characteristic of the common toad-flax. the material was presented to linnaeus, wh ... | 1979 | 24310481 |
| correlation between behavioral and neuronal activities of toads bufo bufo (l.) in response to moving configurational prey stimuli. | common toads are able to distinguish prey objects from predators and behaviorally irrelevant stimuli by their shape and direction of motion. using computer programs for correlation analysis, the prey-catching activity in response to different moving configurational stimuli was compared with the activity of neurons recorded at different levels of the visual pathway. among retinal ganglion cells, the class r2 neurons were found to be most sensitive, to moving configurational stimuli. among neurons ... | 1979 | 24924977 |
| modification of prey-catching behavior by learning in the common toad (bufo b. bufo [l], anura, amphibia): changes in responses to visual objects and effects of auditory stimuli. | an attempt to train common toads (bufo b. bufo) to make the turning movements associated with prey-catching in response to a tone (1000 hz, 90 db) was unsuccessful. however, some toads learned to discriminate food that had been made unpalatable from palatable food of identical appearance, when the former was accompanied by the auditory stimulus. by making the prey unpalatable flight behavior could be induced in toads presented with a housefly (musca domestica). on the other hand, toads could be ... | 1978 | 24924651 |
| alterations in the release calls of six european anura (amphibia) after partial or total extirpation of the vocal cords. | in the interior of the larynx of ranidae there are two sturdy vocal cords. the bufonidae have more delicate vocal cords, and in addition paired cushions of tissue anterior to the cords and paired folds posterior to the cords. in the three ranids rana esculenta, rana ridibunda and rana temporaria, partial or total extirpation of the vocal cords results in loss of voice or atypical release calls. in such remnants of calls as are retained, the frequency composition is little affected, whereas the i ... | 1976 | 24923743 |
| a quantitative approach to the mortality resulting from traffic in a population of bufo bufo l. | during the breeding migration of bufo bufo in 1971 the number of females was counted, killed by traffic on an asphalt road with about 10 cars/hour. by counting egg-strings the total number of females was estimated too. by comparing both data it appeared that 30% of the females passing the road were run over. for the males a similar percentage is expected. | 1973 | 28307986 |
| | a toad (bufo bufo) hemoglobin has been purified and two types of chain have been separated by counter-current distribution. the alpha-chain has a n-terminal sequence ac-ala-leu and a c-terminal sequence tyr-arg. the beta-chain has a n-terminal sequence val-his-leu and a c-terminal sequence tyr-his. | 1969 | 11947275 |
| differences and similarities among parotoid macrogland secretions in south american toads: a preliminary biochemical delineation. | amphibians are known by cutaneous glands, spread over the skin, containing toxins (proteins, peptides, biogenic amines, steroidal bufadienolides, and alkaloids) used as chemical defense against predators and microbial infection. toads are characterized by the presence of parotoid macroglands. the common toads have lately been divided into two genera: bufo (europe, asia, and africa) and rhinella (south america). basal rhaebo genus is exclusively of central america and amazon region. although rhin ... | 2013 | 23737734 |
| evaluation in situ of genotoxicity and stress in south american common toad rhinella arenarum in environments related to fluorite mine. | little attention has been paid to the impact of wastewater generated by mining activities on fluoride. in this study, we evaluated the hematology responses of common south american toad rhinella arenarum inhabiting natural and artificial environments associated with a fluorite mine from central argentina. we analyzed three sampling stations associated with the fluorite mine: (i) los cerros negros stream (cn), which runs on granitic rock with a high fluorite content; (ii) los vallecitos stream (l ... | 2017 | 28634794 |
| amphibian and reptile road-kills on tertiary roads in relation to landscape structure: using a citizen science approach with open-access land cover data. | amphibians and reptiles are among the most endangered vertebrate species worldwide. however, little is known how they are affected by road-kills on tertiary roads and whether the surrounding landscape structure can explain road-kill patterns. the aim of our study was to examine the applicability of open-access remote sensing data for a large-scale citizen science approach to describe spatial patterns of road-killed amphibians and reptiles on tertiary roads. using a citizen science app we monitor ... | 2017 | 28651557 |
| distribution of nadph-diaphorase reactivity in the central nervous system of the common toad (bufo bufo). | we examined the distribution of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (nadph-d)-reactive elements in the central nervous system (cns) of the common toad, bufo bufo. the investigation involved adult male and female toads collected during the breeding season. labeled neurons of different morphological appearances (weakly or darkly stained, unipolar, bipolar, and multipolar) and fibers were observed across all subdivisions of the amphibian brain. overall, a similar distribution of ... | 2017 | 29208411 |
| phylogeographic and population insights of the asian common toad (bufo gargarizans) in korea and china: population isolation and expansions as response to the ice ages. | the effects of ice ages on speciation have been well documented for many european and north american taxa. in contrast, very few studies have addressed the consequences of such environmental and topographical changes in north east asian species. more precisely, the korean peninsula offers a unique model to assess patterns and processes of speciation as it hosts the northern- and eastern-most distribution limit of some widespread asian taxa. despite this, studies addressing phylogeographic patter ... | 2017 | 29201561 |
| amphibian recovery after a decrease in acidic precipitation. | we here report the first sign of amphibian recovery after a strong decline due to acidic precipitation over many decades and peaking around 1980-90. in 2010, the ph level of ponds and small lakes in two heavily acidified areas in southwestern scandinavia (aust-agder and østfold in norway) had risen significantly at an (arithmetic) average of 0.14 since 1988-89. parallel with the general rise in ph, amphibians (rana temporaria, r. arvalis, bufo bufo, lissotriton vulgaris, and triturus cristatus) ... | 2017 | 29164539 |
| differing long term trends for two common amphibian species (bufo bufo and rana temporaria) in alpine landscapes of salzburg, austria. | this study focuses on the population trends of two widespread european anuran species: the common toad (bufo bufo) and the common frog (rana temporaria). the basis of this study is data gathered over two decades of amphibian fencing alongside roads in the austrian state of salzburg. different statistical approaches were used to analyse the data. overall average increase or decrease of each species was estimated by calculating a simple average locality index. in addition the statistical software ... | 2017 | 29121054 |
| comparing pseudo-absences generation techniques in boosted regression trees models for conservation purposes: a case study on amphibians in a protected area. | boosted regression trees (brt) is one of the modelling techniques most recently applied to biodiversity conservation and it can be implemented with presence-only data through the generation of artificial absences (pseudo-absences). in this paper, three pseudo-absences generation techniques are compared, namely the generation of pseudo-absences within target-group background (tgb), testing both the weighted (wtgb) and unweighted (utgb) scheme, and the generation at random (rdm), evaluating their ... | 2017 | 29107997 |
| [advance on quality control of toad venom and its key influence factors]. | toad venom (chansu) is prepared from the dried secretion of bufo bufo gargarizans or b. melanostictus. it is not only one of the famous and expensive traditional chinese medicines(tcms) from animal origin, but also one of 28 kinds of toxic tcms to be required for special management issued by the state council of the people's republic of china. chansu contains the rich bufadienolides and indole alkaloids, and displays various bioactivity including cardiotonic, anti-tumor, analgesia, and local ane ... | 2017 | 28994527 |
| hybrid zone formation and contrasting outcomes of secondary contact over transects in common toads. | much progress in speciation research stems from documenting patterns of morphological and genetic variation in hybrid zones. contrasting patterns of marker introgression in different sections of the contact can provide valuable insights on the relative importance of various evolutionary mechanisms maintaining species differences in the face of hybridization and gene flow and on hybrid zone temporal and spatial dynamics. we studied species interactions in the common toads bufo bufo and b. spinosu ... | 2017 | 28752635 |
| arginine derivatives of dicarboxylic acids from the parotid gland secretions of common toad bufo bufo-new agonists of ionotropic γ-aminobutyric acid receptors. | compounds activating γ-aminobutyric acid type a receptor were isolated from the toad bufo bufo venom as a result of chromatographic separation. analysis of the structure of these compounds by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance showed that they are arginine derivatives of dicarboxylic acids and represent suberylarginine, pimeloylarginine, and adipoylarginine. | 2017 | 28726106 |
| chronic exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide makes toad larvae more toxic. | chemical pollutants can exert various sublethal effects on wildlife, leading to complex fitness consequences. many animals use defensive chemicals as protection from predators and diseases, yet the effects of chemical contaminants on this important fitness component are poorly known. understanding such effects is especially relevant for amphibians, the globally most threatened group of vertebrates, because they are particularly vulnerable to chemical pollution. we conducted two experiments to in ... | 2017 | 28679726 |
| standardize or diversify experimental conditions in ecotoxicology? a case study on herbicide toxicity to larvae of two anuran amphibians. | despite a steeply increasing number of ecotoxicological studies on the effects of pesticides on nontarget organisms, studies assessing the adequacy and reliability of different experimental approaches have remained scarce. we scrutinized effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on larvae of two european anuran amphibians by estimating species-specific lc50 values, assessing how an additional stress factor may influence outcomes, and investigating whether replicate experiments yielded qualitativel ... | 2017 | 28660298 |
| isolation and identification of l/d-lactate-conjugated bufadienolides from toad eggs revealing lactate racemization in amphibians. | three pairs of bufadienolide l/d-lactate epimers (1-6) were isolated from the eggs of the toad bufo bufo gargarizans. the structures were elucidated by using spectroscopic methods, x-ray diffraction analysis and a modified mosher's method. compounds 1-6 represent the first occurrence of lactate-conjugated bufadienolides in nature, and illustrate the existence of an enzyme-controlled epimerization from l- to d-lactate in amphibians. the biosynthetic pathways, in which two key enzymes might be inv ... | 2017 | 28639665 |
| age- and environment-dependent changes in chemical defences of larval and post-metamorphic toads. | chemical defences are widespread in animals, but how their production is adjusted to ecological conditions is poorly known. optimal defence theory predicts that inducible defences are favoured over constitutive defences when toxin production is costly and the need for it varies across environments. however, if some environmental changes occur predictably (e.g. coupled to transitions during ontogeny), whereas others are unpredictable (e.g. predation, food availability), changes in defences may ha ... | 2017 | 28610604 |
| n-methyl serotonin analogues from the bufo bufo toad venom interact efficiently with the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. | two low-molecular-weight compounds were isolated from the parotid gland secret of the toad bufo bufo, which by absorption spectra and hplc-ms/ms chromatography data correspond to di- and trimethyl derivatives of serotonin (5-hydorxytryptamine): bufotenine (confirmed by counter synthesis) and bufotenidine (5-htq). in experiments on competitive radioligand binding, these compounds showed a higher affinity and selectivity for neuronal α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors compared with the muscular ... | 2017 | 28421441 |
| toxins and pharmacologically active compounds from species of the family bufonidae (amphibia, anura). | among amphibians, 15 of the 47 species reported to be used in traditional medicines belong to the family bufonidae, which demonstrates their potential in pharmacological and natural products research. for example, asian and american tribes use the skin and the parotoid gland secretions of some common toads in the treatment of hemorrhages, bites and stings from venomous animals, skin and stomach disorders, as well as several types of cancers. | 2017 | 28034659 |
| asian common toads in madagascar: an urgent effort to inform surveys and eradication efforts. | | 2015 | 25044959 |
| common toads (bufo arenarum) learn to anticipate and avoid hypertonic saline solutions. | toads (bufo arenarum) were exposed to pairings between immersion in a neutral saline solution (i.e., one that caused no significant variation in fluid balance), followed by immersion in a highly hypertonic saline solution (i.e., one that caused water loss). in experiment 1, solutions were presented in a pavlovian conditioning arrangement. a group receiving a single neutral-highly hypertonic pairing per day exhibited a greater conditioned increase in heart rate than groups receiving either the sa ... | 2007 | 18085926 |
| investigating potential for effects of environmental endocrine disrupters on wild populations of amphibians in uk and japan: status of historical databases and review of methods. | concern over global declines among amphibians has resulted in increased interest in the effects of environmental contaminants on amphibian populations, and more recently, this has stimulated research on the potential adverse effects of environmental endocrine disrupters in amphibians. laboratory studies of the effects of single chemicals on endocrine-relevant endpoints in amphibian, mainly anuran, models are valuable in characterizing sensitivity at the individual level and may yield useful bioa ... | 2007 | 18030285 |
| dopaminergic modulation of visual responses in toads. ii. influences of apomorphine on retinal ganglion cells and tectal cells. | the behavioral studies of part i have shown in common toads that after systemic administration of the dopamine agonist apomorphine the prey-directed orienting turning movements are suppressed while prey snapping is facilitated. part ii focuses on retinal and tectal single cell responses to moving objects. (1) after systemic administration of apomorphine, the discharge rates of retinal class r2 and r3 ganglion cell fibres--recorded from the retino-tectal projection--speeded up in response to visu ... | 1997 | 9008366 |
| apomorphine-induced suppression of prey oriented turning in toads is correlated with activity changes in pretectum and tectum: [14c]2dg studies and single cell recordings. | in common toads, after systemic administration of the dopamine agonist apomorphine (apo), prey-oriented turning was suppressed. searching for neural correlates, the present study shows apo-induced increases in glucose utilization in the retinorecipient pretectum and dorsal optic tectum and a decrease in the medial tectal output layers. this pattern of metabolic activity is resembled by neuronal discharge activities recorded in response to a prey stimulus; the discharge rates are increased in ret ... | 1996 | 8994231 |
| characterization of the adaptive morphology of japanese stream toad (bufo torrenticola) using geometric morphometrics. | the order anura (frogs and toads) is a group of amphibians and contains over 6500 extant species living in a variety of environments. each frog species evolved body form adaptive for living and breeding in their own habitats. in japan, four taxa of bufo are living: western-japanese common toad (bufo japonicus japonicus), eastern-japanese common toad (b. japonicus formosus), miyako toad (b. gargarizans miyakonis) and japanese stream toad (b. torrenticola). the former three taxa breed in still wat ... | 2018 | 29417890 |
| competency of amphibians and reptiles and their potential role as reservoir hosts for rift valley fever virus. | rift valley fever phlebovirus (rvfv) is an arthropod-borne zoonotic pathogen, which is endemic in africa, causing large epidemics, characterized by severe diseases in ruminants but also in humans. as in vitro and field investigations proposed amphibians and reptiles to potentially play a role in the enzootic amplification of the virus, we experimentally infected african common toads and common agamas with two rvfv strains. lymph or sera, as well as oral, cutaneous and anal swabs were collected f ... | 2020 | 33114178 |
| toads prey upon scorpions and are resistant to their venom: a biological and ecological approach to scorpionism. | in recent years, se brazil, the most populous region in the country with an estimated population of 88 million, has been experiencing an alarming increase in scorpions accidents (scorpionism), mainly caused by the yellow scorpion (tityus serrulatus), or "escorpião amarelo" in portuguese. this species is considered particularly dangerous to humans and can reproduce by parthenogenesis favouring rapid dispersal and colonization of new environments. since the 1940s, owing to the growing danger repre ... | 2020 | 32081637 |
| an amphibian species pushed out of britain by a moving hybrid zone. | classical theory states that hybrid zones will be stable in troughs of low population density where dispersal is hampered. yet, evidence for moving hybrid zones is mounting. one possible reason that moving zones have been underappreciated is that they may drive themselves into oblivion and with just the superseding species remaining, morphological and genetic signals of past species replacement may be difficult to appreciate. using genetic data (32 diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms) fro ... | 2019 | 31643124 |
| artificial light at night disturbs the activity and energy allocation of the common toad during the breeding period. | the presence of artificial light at night (alan) is currently a global phenomenon. by altering the photoperiod, alan may directly affect the physiology and behaviour of many organisms, such as the timing of daily rhythms, hormonal regulation, food intake, metabolism, migration and reproduction. surprisingly while it is known that alan exposure strongly influences health of humans and laboratory animals, studies on wildlife remain scarce. amphibians are one of the most nocturnal groups of vertebr ... | 2019 | 30746151 |
| receptor-specific crosstalk between prostanoid e receptor 3 and bombesin receptor subtype 3. | bombesin receptor subtype 3 (brs-3) is a gpcr that is expressed in the cns, peripheral tissues, and tumors. our understanding of brs-3's role in physiology and pathophysiology is limited because its natural ligand is unknown. in an attempt to identify this ligand, we screened toad skin ( bufo bufo gargarizans cantor) extracts and identified prostaglandins as putative ligands. in brs-3-transfected human embryonic kidney (hek) cells, we found that prostaglandins, with prostaglandin e2 (pge2) being ... | 2018 | 29401613 |
| neofoleyellides boerewors n. gen. n. sp. (nematoda: onchocercidae) parasitising common toads and mosquito vectors: morphology, life history, experimental transmission and host-vector interaction in situ. | anuran filarial nematodes are restricted to two comparatively small subfamilies (icosiellinae and waltonellinae) of the filariae that currently comprise six genera and 41 recognised species. however, the life histories of only five anuran filarial nematodes, proposed as an ancestral group based on molecular phylogenetic studies, have been elucidated. furthermore, data on the natural vectors (in situ) and parasite transmission is limited. in the current study we elucidate the life history of neof ... | 2020 | 32087248 |
| influence of substrate types and morphological traits on movement behavior in a toad and newt species. | inter-patch movements may lead to genetic mixing, decreasing both inbreeding and population extinction risks, and is hence a crucial aspect of amphibian meta-population dynamics. traveling through heterogeneous landscapes might be particularly risky for amphibians. understanding how these species perceive their environment and how they move in heterogeneous habitats is an essential step in explaining metapopulation dynamics and can be important for predicting species' responses to climate change ... | 2019 | 30643673 |
| a new method for the estimation of minimum adult frog density from a large-scale audial survey. | audial surveys of anuran amphibians (frogs, toads and similar) are cost-effective and allow for the coverage of large areas, but they are usually regarded as unsuitable for population size estimations due to imperfect detection. our study demonstrated a method for obtaining minimum adult population size estimates from vocalising anuran counts by using sex ratios, life history and vocalising behaviour parameters from other studies. we collected data from 2016 to 2018 for seven taxa on 65 plots (e ... | 2020 | 32451461 |
| effects of host species and environmental factors on the prevalence of batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in northern europe. | the fungal pathogen batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (bd) poses a major threat to amphibian populations. to assist efforts to address such threats, we examined differences in bd host infection prevalence among amphibian species and its relations to both local environmental factors in breeding habitats and landscape variables measured at three scales (500, 2000 and 5000 m radii) around breeding sites in southernmost sweden. we sampled 947 anurans of six species in 31 ponds and assessed their infect ... | 2018 | 30359384 |
| ultrastructure of neuroendocrine cells in the lungs of three anuran species. | neuroendocrine cells in the lungs of three species of anurans, bombina variegata, bufo bufo and bu. viridis, occur both as single cells and in the form of neuroepithelial bodies. neuroendocrine cells are covered by ciliated cells or pneumocytes, which separate them from the lumen of the lung. neuroepithelial bodies are dispersed in the apical part of the main septa of lungs of bo. variegata and bu. bufo or are situated on special protrusions of septa in the lungs of bu. viridis. neuroepithelial ... | 1990 | 29865696 |
| stretch-excitation correlation in the toad heart. | the activation sequence of the ventricular myocardium in ectotherms is a matter of debate. we studied the correlation between the ventricular activation sequence and the pattern of local stretches in 13 toads (bufo bufo). epicardial potential mapping was done with 56-lead sock array. activation times were determined as dv/dt min in each lead. initial epicardial foci of activation were found on the left side of the ventricular base, whereas regions on the apex and the right side of the base demon ... | 2020 | 33161379 |
| morphological and histological abnormalities of the neotropical toad, rhinella arenarum (anura: bufonidae) larvae exposed to dexamethasone. | dexamethasone (dex) is a glucocorticoid highly effective as an anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressant and decongestant drug. in the present study, a preliminary acute toxicity test was assayed in order to determinate dex median-lethal, lowest-observed-effect and the no-observed-effect concentrations (lc50, loec and noec, respectively) on the common toad embryos (rhinella arenarum). also, morphological and histological abnormalities from five body larval regions, liver melanomacrophages (mm) and gl ... | 2020 | 33112724 |
| two new indole alkaloids from toad venom of bufo bufo gargarizans. | two new indole alkaloids, bufotenidine b (2) and bufocarboline a (6), along with seven known indole alkaloids (1, 3-5, and 7-9) and three organic acids (10-12), were isolated from the water extract of toad venom. the structures of the new alkaloids were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods. the absolute configurations of 4, 6, and 8 were determined for the first time by electronic circular dichroism (ecd) calculations. the cytotoxic activity of all compounds was tested against human mal ... | 2020 | 33019706 |
| the insecticidal activity of rhinella schneideri (werner, 1894) paratoid secretion in nauphoeta cinerea cocroaches. | rhinella schneideri is a common toad found in south america, whose paratoid toxic secretion has never been explored as an insecticide. in order to evaluate its insecticidal potential, nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches were used as an experimental model in biochemical, physiological and behavioral procedures. lethality assays with rhinella schneideri paratoid secretion (rsps) determined the ld50 value after 24 h (58.07µg/g) and 48 h exposure (44.07 µg/g) (r2 = 0.882 and 0.954, respectively). acetylch ... | 2020 | 33019552 |
| hybridization and introgression between toads with different sex chromosome systems. | the growing interest in the lability of sex determination in non-model vertebrates such as amphibians and fishes has revealed high rates of sex chromosome turnovers among closely related species of the same clade. can such lineages hybridize and admix with different sex-determining systems, or could the changes have precipitated their speciation? we addressed these questions in incipient species of toads (bufonidae), where we identified a heterogametic transition and characterized their hybrid z ... | 2020 | 33014420 |
| stressed tadpoles mount more efficient glucocorticoid negative feedback in anthropogenic habitats due to phenotypic plasticity. | coping with anthropogenic environmental change is among the greatest challenges faced by wildlife, and endocrine flexibility is a potentially crucial coping mechanism. animals may adapt to anthropogenic environments by dampening their glucocorticoid stress response, but empirical tests of this hypothesis have provided mixed evidence. an alternative hypothesis is that a non-attenuated stress response and efficient negative feedback are favored in anthropogenic habitats. to test this idea, we non- ... | 2020 | 32889314 |
| individual variation in cardiotoxicity of parotoid secretion of the common toad, bufo bufo, depends on body size - first results. | anurans secrete a wide diversity of toxins from skin glands to defend themselves against predators and pathogens. bufonids produce potent poison in parotoid macroglands located in the postorbital region. parotoid secretion is a rich source of bioactive compounds with cardiotoxic, cytotoxic and hemolytic activity. poison content and toxicity may vary between species, populations, and among conspecifics inhabiting the same area. in the present paper, we pre-analyzed the individual variation in car ... | 2020 | 32862084 |
| how to disinfect anuran eggs? sensitivity of anuran embryos to chemicals widely used for the disinfection of larval and post-metamorphic amphibians. | emerging infectious diseases are major drivers of global and local amphibian biodiversity loss. therefore, developing effective disinfection methods to manage the impact of diseases in wild and captive "ark" populations are an important goal in amphibian conservation. while chemical disinfectants have been used safely and effectively in larval and adult amphibians infected with pathogenic microbes, their applicability to amphibian egg masses has remained untested. to bridge this gap, we exposed ... | 2020 | 32830870 |
| toad venom antiproliferative activities on metastatic melanoma: bio-guided fractionation and screening of the compounds of two different venoms. | melanoma is the most common cancer in young adults, with a constantly increasing incidence. metastatic melanoma is a very aggressive cancer with a 5-year survival rate of about 22-25%. this is, in most cases, due to a lack of therapies which are effective on the long term. hence, it is crucial to find new therapeutic agents to increase patient survival. toad venoms are a rich source of potentially pharmaceutically active compounds and studies have highlighted their possible effect on cancer cell ... | 2020 | 32785105 |
| aminomethylphosphonic acid alters amphibian embryonic development at environmental concentrations. | despite intense societal and scientific debates regarding glyphosate toxicity, it remains the most widely used herbicide. the primary metabolite of glyphosate, ampa (aminomethylphosphonic acid), is the main contaminant detected in surface waters worldwide, both because of the extensive use of glyphosate and because of other widespread sources of ampa (i.e., industrial detergents). studies on potential effects of glyphosate using environmentally relevant concentrations of ampa on non-target wildl ... | 2020 | 32771800 |
| [study on quality standard of bufonis venenum and its processed slice, toad venom powder]. | bufonis venenum(toad venom) is prepared from the dried secretion of bufo bufo gargarizans or b. melanostictus. toad venom powder is one of the processed slices of crude material toad venom. in the present study, the global quality control method and standard of toad venom and its processed slice, toad venom powder were established, including tlc identification, characteristic chromatogram and qams by hplc. the relative correction factor(rcf) was re-calculated and validated. the average rcfs of c ... | 2020 | 32489055 |
| relationships between chemical defenses of common toad (bufo bufo) tadpoles and bacterial community structure of their natural aquatic habitat. | many organisms synthesize secondary metabolites against natural enemies. however, to which environmental factors the production of these metabolites is adjusted to is poorly investigated in animals, especially so in vertebrates. bufadienolides are steroidal compounds that are present in a wide range of plants and animals and, if present in large quantities, can provide protection against natural enemies, such as pathogens. in a correlative study involving 16 natural populations we investigated h ... | 2020 | 32468489 |
| inter-population variation in thermal sensitivity of the tropical toad duttaphrynus melanostictus, across a small spatial scale in sri lanka. | inter-population disparities in a species have been shown to occur as an adaptation to different thermal regimes in the environment. we investigated the thermal sensitivities of the tropical toad duttaphrynus melanostictus (asia common toad) from two populations at different altitudes: nuwara-eliya - 1870 m, and polonnaruwa - 25 m, above mean sea level. the two locations were separated by what may be considered a short direct distance - 110 km. thermal sensitivity trials were conducted at six te ... | 2020 | 32364998 |
| impacts of trace metals on african common toad, amietophrynus regularis (reuss, 1833) and depuration effects of the toad's enteric parasite, amplicaecum africanum (taylor, 1924) sampled within lagos metropolis, nigeria. | the study aimed at assessing the depuration potentials of endoparasite, amplicaecum africanum on trace metals in its toad host, amietophrynus regularis at sites of significant anthropogenic perturbations within the lagos metropolis, in nigeria. a total of 120 toads of both sexes, alongside 45 soil samples were collected from each of three (3) stations labeled dumpsite, lagoon front and highrise, using hand nets and by hand-picking between february and october, 2018. the intestinal tissues sectio ... | 2020 | 32258456 |
| mitochondrial costs of being hot: effects of acute thermal change on liver bioenergetics in toads (bufo bufo). | global climatic warming is predicted to drive extreme thermal events, especially in temperate terrestrial environments. hence, describing how physiological parameters are affected by acute temperature changes would allow us to understand the energy management of organisms facing such non-predictable and constraining events. as mitochondria play a key role in the conversion of energy from food into atp but also produce harmful reactive oxygen species, the understanding of its functioning is cruci ... | 2020 | 32218742 |
| urban environment and reservoir host species are associated with batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection prevalence in the common toad. | human-induced changes of the environment, including landscape alteration and habitat loss, may affect wildlife disease dynamics and have important ramifications for wildlife conservation. amphibians are among the vertebrate taxa most threatened by anthropogenic habitat change. the emerging fungal pathogen batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (bd) has caused extinctions and population declines in hundreds of anuran species globally. we studied how the urban landscape is associated with the prevalence o ... | 2019 | 32132271 |
| effects of two little-studied environmental pollutants on early development in anurans. | despite intensive ecotoxicological research, we still know relatively little about the ecological impacts of many environmental contaminants. filling these knowledge gaps is particularly important regarding amphibians, because they play significant roles in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, and their populations are declining worldwide. in this study, we investigated two pollutants that have been poorly studied in ecotoxicology despite their widespread occurrence in surface waters: the herb ... | 2020 | 32041031 |
| ocular hypotonia and transient decrease of vision as a consequence of exposure to a common toad poison. | the common toad produces venom (bufotoxin) that is produced in the parotid gland of the toad as well as in the skin. this toxic compound is a potent inhibitor of na+/k+-atpase activity. physiological effects of bufotoxin are similar to those of digitalis and cause increased heart rate and muscle contractions. ocular toxicity was described. a 67-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency service because of sudden vision loss and a burning sensation in both eyes after she had been expos ... | 2020 | 32015920 |
| the rhinella arenarum transcriptome: de novo assembly, annotation and gene prediction. | the common toad rhinella arenarum is widely distributed in argentina, where it is utilised as an autochthonous model in ecotoxicological research and environmental toxicology. however, the lack of a reference genome makes molecular assays and gene expression studies difficult to carry out on this non-model species. to address this issue, we performed a genome-wide transcriptome analysis on r. arenarum larvae through massive rna sequencing, followed by de novo assembly, annotation, and gene predi ... | 2020 | 31974515 |
| global metabolomic and lipidomic analysis reveal the synergistic effect of bufalin in combination with cinobufagin against hepg2 cells. | chansu, which is prepared from the skin secretions of toad (bufo bufo gargarizans cantor), is widely used in traditional chinese medicine (tcm). being the principal bioactive constituents of chansu, bufalin (bfl) and cinobufagin (cbf) have been shown to possess anticancer properties. tcm confers bioactivities through the synergistic effect between potential active ingredients, so as to interfere with the development of the disease, and ultimately achieve the therapeutic effect. we found that the ... | 2020 | 31942794 |
| artificial light at night alters the sexual behaviour and fertilisation success of the common toad. | artificial light at night (alan) is an emerging pollution, that dramatically keeps on increasing worldwide due to urbanisation and transport infrastructure development. in 2016, it nearly affected 23% of the earth's surface. to date, all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have been affected. the disruption of natural light cycles due to alan is particularly expected for nocturnal species, which require dark periods to forage, move, and reproduce. apart from chiropterans, amphibians contain the l ... | 2020 | 31931411 |
| potential pesticide exposure during the post-breeding migration of the common toad (bufo bufo) in a vineyard dominated landscape. | two important drivers of the global amphibian decline are habitat destruction due to an intensification of farming and a related increase of pesticide applications. recent studies have shown that there might be an underestimated risk of pesticides on terrestrial amphibians. however, there are too few data on the terrestrial habitat use of amphibians in agricultural landscapes to estimate the exposure risk. to fill this knowledge gap, we used telemetry to investigate the post-breeding migration o ... | 2020 | 31855631 |
| toxicity characterization and environmental risk assessment of mancozeb on the south american common toad rhinella arenarum. | agricultural activity, especially the increasing use of pesticides, is considered one of the main reasons for the decline of amphibian populations. mancozeb (mcz) is one of the most used fungicides worldwide, despite its ancient use and toxicity demonstrated in different taxa. however, there is limited information about the effects of mcz in amphibians, which are keystones of riparian ecosystems. for species conservation purposes, it is essential to identify the most sensitive developmental peri ... | 2020 | 31838683 |
| comparative toxicity of two different dimethoate formulations in the common toad (rhinella arenarum) tadpoles. | dimethoate (d) are among the most commonly used organophosphates insecticides in the world. to evaluate the toxicity of two d formulations were selected as test organisms tadpoles of rhinella arenarum. this toad species has an extensive neotropical distribution and is easy to handle and acclimate to laboratory conditions. the tadpoles were exposed in an acute assay for 48 h to d soluble concentrates (dsc) and emulsifiable concentrates (dec). the 48 h-lc50 (95% confidence limits) value of dsc was ... | 2020 | 31740980 |
| geographic body size variation of a tropical anuran: effects of water deficit and precipitation seasonality on asian common toad from southern asia. | two previous studies on interspecific body size variation of anurans found that the key drivers of variation are the species' lifestyles and the environments that they live in. to examine whether those findings apply at the intraspecific level, we conducted a study of the asian common toad (duttaphrynus melanostictus), a terrestrial anuran distributed in tropical regions. the body size of toads from 15 locations, covering the majority of their geographic range, and local environmental data were ... | 2019 | 31706264 |
| protein identification from the parotoid macrogland secretion of duttaphrynus melanostictus. | bufonid parotoid macrogland secretion contains several low molecular mass molecules, such as alkaloids and steroids. nevertheless, its protein content is poorly understood. herein, we applied a sample preparation methodology that allows the analysis of viscous matrices in order to examine its proteins. | 2019 | 31467513 |
| predator-induced changes in the chemical defence of a vertebrate. | 1. inducible defences are ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, but little is known about facultative changes in chemical defences in response to predators, especially so in vertebrates. 2. we tested for predator-induced changes in toxin production of larval common toads (bufo bufo), which are known to synthesize bufadienolide compounds. 3. the experiment included larvae originating from three permanent and three temporary ponds reared in the presence or absence of chemical cues of three predators: ... | 2019 | 31408536 |
| the protection of indolealkylamines from lps-induced inflammation in zebrafish. | toad skin came from bufo bufo gargarizans cantor and bufo melanostictus schneider. as the traditional chinese medicine, it had the effect of clearing away heat and detoxification. in traditional applications, toad skin was often used for the treatment of cancer and inflammation. total indolealkylamines (iaas) from this medicine were proved the main compounds exert anti-inflammatory activity in our previous research. | 2019 | 31356965 |
| [correlative study of bufogenin constituents in venom of bufo bufo gargarizans]. | as known,simultaneous determination of various chemical indicators is one of the future trends in quality control of traditional chinese medicines because of the extremely complex chemical compositions. this project is to screen the quality markers that can accurately control the quality of the bufonis venenum by exploring the intrinsic correlation of components. in this study,venom of bufo bufo gargarizans from 17 different sources were used as research samples,and the contents of 7 bufogenin w ... | 2019 | 31342712 |
| meteterakis asansolensis sp. nov. (nematoda: heterakidae) in duttaphrynus melanostictus (schneider, 1899) (amphibia: anura: bufonidae) from asansol coalfield area, paschim bardhaman, west bengal, india. | meteterakis asansolensis sp. nov. (nematoda: heterakidae) recovered from the rectum of asian common toad, duttaphrynus melanostictus (schneider, 1899), collected from asansol coalfield area in paschim bardhaman district of west bengal, india, is described and illustrated. this species is characterised by the presence of a precloacal sucker, a gubernaculum and two equal and similar spicules (0.31-0.32 mm in length). this species differs from other reported species of the oriental region by morpho ... | 2019 | 31263327 |
| bufothionine exerts anti-cancer activities in gastric cancer through pim3. | gastric cancer (gc) is the fourth most common cancer globally. bufothionine is a major active constituent of cinobufacini (huachansu), which is extracted from the skin and parotid venom gland of the toad bufo bufo gargarizans cantor. it exhibits anti-cancer activities in vitro. however, whether bufothionine exerts anti-cancer activities against gc is unknown. this study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of bufothionine in vitro and in vivo. | 2019 | 31260686 |
| chemical defense of toad tadpoles under risk by four predator species. | many organisms use inducible defenses as protection against predators. in animals, inducible defenses may manifest as changes in behavior, morphology, physiology, or life history, and prey species can adjust their defensive responses based on the dangerousness of predators. analogously, prey may also change the composition and quantity of defensive chemicals when they coexist with different predators, but such predator-induced plasticity in chemical defenses remains elusive in vertebrates. in th ... | 2019 | 31236221 |
| effect-based environmental monitoring for thyroid disruption in swedish amphibian tadpoles. | it is well-known that the metamorphosis process in amphibians is dependent on thyroid hormones. laboratory studies have shown that several environmental contaminants can affect the function of thyroid hormones leading to alterations in the amphibian metamorphosis. the basic idea of the present study was to elucidate if the amphibian metamorphosis might be a useful tool as biomarker for effect-based environmental monitoring, examining wild tadpoles for potential thyroid hormone disruption. a labo ... | 2019 | 31222463 |
| differences in ocular media transmittance in classical frog and toad model species and its impact on visual sensitivity. | the transmittance properties of the cornea, lens and humours of vertebrates determine how much light across the visible spectrum reaches the retina, influencing sensitivity to visual stimuli. amphibians are the only vertebrate class in which the light transmittance of these ocular media has not been thoroughly characterised, preventing large-scale comparative studies and precise quantification of visual stimuli in physiological and behavioural experiments. we measured the ocular media transmitta ... | 2019 | 31171601 |
| fatal phaeohyphomycosis due to exophiala sp. infection in a free-living common toad bufo bufo. | a wild adult female common toad bufo bufo found dead in scotland in september 2016 was observed to have hepatomegaly, a large soft tissue mass in the coelomic cavity (2.7 g, 3.5 × 2.3 × 1.8 cm) and numerous dark-red papules (1-2 mm diameter) in the skin and subjacent tissue over the back and dorsal aspects of the limbs. histopathological examination identified marked hepatitis and coelomitis associated with pigmented fungal hyphae, which are results consistent with a diagnosis of phaeohyphomycos ... | 2019 | 30997881 |