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All Stressed Out: An Investigation on the Effects of Environmental Stressors on the Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)
Get PDFCorticosterone (CORT) is the primary glucocorticoid in many vertebrates, including mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. When an organism is exposed to external or internal stressors, CORT levels often increase (Rich & Romero, 2005; Titon et al., 2021). An increase in CORT can cause adverse physiological effects such as slower growth, malformations in different parts of the body, and specific blood sugar diseases such as diabetes (Glennemeier & Denver, 2002; Tarlow &Blumstein, 2007). CORT levels are indicators of survival, growth, and reproduction in larval amphibians. Many species, including our model organism, the Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens), are often subjected to a wide variety of environmental stressors, including environmental contaminants and disease-causing pathogens, which can contribute to various physiological effects. Although there is some information regarding the effects of singular stressors on CORT in amphibians, there is a gap in the literature regarding the effects of multiple, combined stressors on CORT in amphibians. It is important to investigate this topic to improve our understanding of how chemical stressors and disease influence the production of CORT and the subsequent consequences of these physiological changes. I hypothesized that an increase in the number of environmental stressors and their severity would contribute to elevated levels of CORT. I also predicted that such increases would be associated with slower development
