Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Honors Paper

Degree Name

Biology-BS

Department

Biology & Earth Science

Advisor

Dr. Sarah Bouchard

First Committee Member

Dr. Andrew Calinger-Yoak

Second Committee Member

Dr. Michele Acker

Keywords

Road Salt, Xenopus laevis, Metabolism

Subject Categories

Biodiversity | Higher Education | Integrative Biology | Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Abstract

Road de-icing salt and its negative effects on the surrounding environment and organisms have recently gained attention. Animals living in aquatic environments with close proximity to roads, specifically frogs, could be affected. Frogs like African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) have semi-permeable skin that helps them maintain osmotic balance inside their bodies. So, increased salinity in aquatic environments due to road salt could affect internal processes, such as metabolism. The purpose of this study was to determine whether increased salinity levels due to road salt influences larval X. laevis metabolism, and whether these effects are detrimental to their health. Larvae were reared in 30 tanks in a temperature-controlled laboratory under no salt added (230 mg Cl-/L), low (515 mg Cl-/L), and high (1,975 mg Cl-/L) chloride concentrations. Growth was measured during the first ten days of development using image analysis. Once tadpoles reached the desired mass, metabolic rates were calculated by measuring oxygen consumption for each tadpole. Salinity treatments did not significantly affect growth rate over the first ten days of rearing. Metabolic rates did not vary significantly across salinity treatments. Metabolic rate varied significantly with body size, and there was no significant effect of salinity on body size. These results suggest that increased salinity due to road salt does not have significant effects on larval X. laevis. Previous studies on other amphibian species have reported different physiological responses to increased salinity, indicating that the effects of road salt may vary among species and experimental conditions. Further research looking at additional species and a wider range of salinity levels is needed to better understand how road salt influences amphibian physiology and metabolism.

Licensing Permission

Copyright, all rights reserved. Fair Use

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