It’s what’s in the frog that matters!

The Johnson laboratory necropsy crew were hard at work this summer dissecting a total of 1,710 amphibians! Specifically this team dissected Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), western toad (Bufo boreas), California newt (Taricha torosa), rough-skinned newt (T. granulosa), and the American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus). This team consisted of two technicians and four undergraduates. It was great year for our focal parasites, Ribeiroia ondatrae, as we detected this parasite in 15 ponds compared to our 2022 data! Additionally, we also saw an increase in malformed amphibians. A total of 78 amphibians that exhibited some type of parasite mediated malformation. What a great way to spend the summer!