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DEFORMED FROGS TURN UP IN BEAVERTON CITY PARK |
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by Associated Press BEAVERTON (AP)--In places where frog legs are a delicacy, the frogs found this week in Tualatin Hills Nature Park would be much in demand. Small Pacific tree frogs, some missing limbs and others boasting as many as four extra rear legs, turned up in a tadpole pond at the park. Bruce Barbarasch, program coordinator at the 219-acre nature park, captured three specimens, each displaying extra limbs. In one, multiple, normal-appearing rear legs grow like mirrors of each other. In another, clusters of malformed and elongated legs sprout from the animal's torso. The abnormalities closely match reports from across the nation of bizarre-looking amphibians that recent investigations have linked to a parasitic flatworm. Fertilizer and pesticide use also is considered as a factor. Barbarasch, who has worked at the nature park for four years, said it was the first time he had seen deformities in the area's Pacific tree frogs. While he wouldn't guess the percentage of frogs showing deformities, Barbarasch found seemingly healthy tree frogs and red-legged frogs in the same pond. The discovery doesn't surprise Andrew R. Blaustein, a professor of biology at Oregon State University. In May, Blaustein and a team of scientists published research about deformed amphibians at 101 Western sites, including some in Beaverton. Kyle Spinks, natural resources technician with the park district, said similar abnormalities were discovered last summer in Tigard.
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