ondatrae in frogs, they tend to increase mortality and pathology due to extra or missing limbs. Since herbicides and pesticides affect the prevalence of R. ondatrae infections which in turn causes predators such as birds to attack the multiple or missing limbed frogs. The herbicide atrazine has proven to weaken amphibians’ immune systems which causes frogs to become more prone to R. Fertilizers have phosphates in them which is also a predictor of larval trematode abundance in amphibians. ondatrae infections is the exposure to run off nutrients, i.e. The abundance of the teratogenic trematode Ribeiroia ondatre has been found to increase in eutrophic (nutrient rich) waters.Īn important factor to the R. The definitive hosts are predators such as hawks, herons, ducks, and badgers. As a result, large numbers of metacercariae encyst near the base of the hind legs. Inside amphibians, cercariae are attracted to limb bud regions where the hind limbs form. The second intermediate hosts are fish and larval amphibians including frogs and salamanders. The first intermediate host is the ram's horn snail.
The exact mechanism of deformation has not been determined but it has been theorized that deformation results from mechanical disruption of the cells involved in limb bud formation during the amphibian larval stage. For example, amphibians of species Pseudacris regilla, Rana aurora and Taricha torosa were found to physically display a higher frequency in the number of abnormalities.
Each species studied showed varying results. ondatrae, the population of amphibian limb malformations was much higher than populations in which this trematode was not present. In recent studies, it was found that in areas infected with R. It was first reported from livers of Ondatra, hence its specific name. Ribeiroia ondatrae, or the frog-mutating flatworm is a parasite in the genus Ribeiroia which is believed to be responsible for many of the recent increases in amphibian limb malformations, particularly missing, malformed, and additional hind legs. Pseudopsilostoma ondatrae Yamaguti, 1958.
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