ABSTRACT
Serious threats to the health and sustainability of global amphibian and reptile populations have been well documented over the last few decades (Stuart et al. 2004). As many authors of this book have already indicated, habitat destruction and encroachment, increased ultraviolet B radiation, fungal diseases (e.g., chytridiomycosis), parasites, climate change, introduction of exotic species, and pollution have been cited as factors in these declines (Burrowes et al. 2004; Lips et al. 2006). Effects from pollutant exposure on wild populations are often difficult to discern due to their sublethal nature and interaction with other stressors that confound clear understanding to the causes behind population declines. The overall number of laboratory ecotoxicological studies carried out on amphibians and reptiles are small relative to other aquatic organisms, such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Daphnia magna, fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas; Chapter 1, this volume). A large number of these existing studies on amphibians have focused on metals or organohalogens such as DDT (4, 4’-(2, 2, 2-trichloroethane-1, 1-diyl) bis(chlorobenzene)) or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have been banned for many years (Sparling et al. 2000). Other studies have included some second-generation pesticides like the organophosphate, carbamate, and pyrethroid insecticides (Cowman and Mazanti 2000; Chapters 6 and 7, this volume).
