Dr. Tim Matson
Dr. Tim Matson, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, is working at the Debra Ann November Greenhouse facilities to investigate the extent and severity of the problem of metal toxicity in NE Ohio on two taxa of amphibians, the Jefferson Salamander and the Wood Frog. The purpose of this project is to investigate the impact of metals upon recent observed declines in population size, probable recent localized extirpations, and exclusion of the Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) and Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum) complex from NE Ohio Erie Lake Plain Section and Portage Escarpment breeding ponds.
This project is an important follow-up study designed to elucidate the results of a field/transplant project conducted by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History during 2006. This extensive laboratory study is testing the potential toxicity of various cations under several concentrations and combinations, predicated on those found in NE Ohio breeding ponds. During the study, freshly laid egg masses from each taxon are collected from two or three sites, transported to the laboratory where eggs of each species are pooled and then separated into smaller units before placement into glass rearing containers having treatments of cations at two levels of acidity (pH) and two levels of hardness (CaCO3 plus MgCO3). There were four replicates of each of the 45 treatments. The embryonic effects study continue in each treatment until all embryos have either suffered mortality or have hatched. Hatchlings are transferred and reared in polycarbonate containers. Larval mortality was determined by counting surviving larvae at 7 days (acute) and at 28 days (chronic) after hatching or when all larvae within a treatment have died. Water chemistry of each treatment are checked before the experiment begins and upon its completion.