For the first time in India, MSU experts are doing a research on the impact of environmental pollution and climatic change on amphibians, which are often referred to as indicator species for environmental change.

The Zoology department of MSU has received seed money of Rs 7 lakh from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), but the project has hit a stumbling block as a few toads have been found for further research due to irregular rainfall this year.

Zoology department lecturer B Suresh told Newsline: “Amphibians are the first terrestrial vertebrates. They need water and land for survival. Hence, even a slight change in both these spheres can make a severe dent on their population. Some experts therefore call amphibians a Global Warming System. We selected a few sites in Vadodara for the research.”

Gujarat has 19 species of amphibians out of which Vadodara is home to nine. This shows that 47 per cent of amphibian species of Gujarat are found in Vadodara. There are 263 species of amphibians in India; in Gujarat their population is low because a few areas in this state are arid zones.

“It is generally accepted that a fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has an impending effect on the decline in population of amphibians in the world. However, other factors such as the effect of Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, pollution and climate change were not much delved into. While the impact of UV radiation was difficult to study in the prescribed area, we opted to study the impact of pollution on the diminishing population of amphibians,” said Suresh.

Prof Y M Naik and B Suresh had taken up this project a few years ago, but after Naik’s demise, Suresh has carried it forward.

Briefing about their findings on pollution, Suresh said: “We had selected three spots for finding an impact of pollution on the frogs: Sardar Estate, Waghodia and MSU campus. Nickel and chromium is mostly used by the industries for electroplating. From Sardar Estate and Waghodia, we found several heavy metals in the kidney and liver tissues of over seven species of frogs. Studies by experts have shown that among the aquatic organisms, amphibians are the most sensitive to aquatic contaminants. The presence of nickel raises alarm, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified nickel compounds as carcinogenous.”

He added: “We also used tools such as population density in finding out the distribution of amphibian population. It was found less in the urban habitats than in the diverse habitats on the outskirts.”

While Suresh has studied the impact of pollution, climatic changes are yet to be concretised. He is keeping tabs on two species of toads — Bufo stomticus and Duttaphrymus melanostictus — on MSU campus.

“It is too difficult to spot them, as due to low rainfall this year, there have been no temporary puddles for the amphibians to breed. The amphibians never breed in deep water due to predators. This might create a hurdle in my research. So I am keeping my fingers crossed. We could not collect tadpoles for further study other than from a ravine near Sindhrot near Hatipura village,” Suresh said.