Poison Dart Frog Facts

Poison dart frogs are small tropical frogs in the family Dendrobatidae. These brightly colored frogs secrete mucous that packs a powerful poisonous punch, while other members of the family camouflage themselves against their surroundings and are nontoxic. Fast Facts: Poison Dart Frog Scientific Name: Family Dendrobatidae (e.g., Phyllobates terribilis)Common Names: Poison dart frog, poison arrow frog, poison frog, dendrobatidBasic Animal Group: AmphibianSize: 0.5-2.5 inchesWeight: 1 ounceLifespan: 1-3 yearsDiet: OmnivoreHabitat: Tropical forests of Central and South AmericaPopulation: Stable or decreasing, depending on speciesConservation Status: Least Concern to Critically Endangered Species There are over 170 species and 13 genera of poison dart frogs. Although collectively known as poison dart frogs, only four species in the genus Phyllobates were documented as used to poison blowdart tips. Some species are nonpoisonous. Description Most poison dart frogs are brightly colored to warn potential predators of their toxicity. However, nontoxic poison dart frogs are cryptically colored so that they can blend in with their surroundings. Adult frogs are small, ranging from half an inch to just under two and a half inches in length. On average, adults weigh one ounce. Habitat and Distribution Poison dart frogs live in the tropical and subtropical rainforests and wetlands of Central and South America. They are found in Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Suriname, French Guiana, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, and Brazil. The frogs have been introduced into Hawaii. Diet and Behavior Tadpoles are omnivorous. They feed on debris, dead insects, insect larvae, and algae. Some species eat other tadpoles. Adults use their sticky tongues to capture, ants, termites, and other small invertebrates. Poison Dart Frog Toxicity The frogs poison comes from its diet. Specifically, alkaloids from arthropods accumulate and are secreted through the frogs skin. The toxins vary in potency. The most toxic poison dart frog is the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis). Each frog contains about one milligram of the poison batrachotoxin, which is sufficient to kill between 10 and 20 people or 10,000 mice. Batrachotoxin prevents nerve impulses from transmitting the signal to relax muscles, causing heart failure. There are no antidotes for poison dart frog exposure. Theoretically, death would occur within three minutes, however, there are no published reports of human deaths from poison dart frog poisoning. The frog has special sodium channels, so it is immune to its own poison. Some predators have developed immunity to the toxin, including the snake Erythrolamprus epinephalus. The golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis) is the most poisonous poison dart frog. Paul Starosta, Getty Images Reproduction and Offspring If the climate is sufficiently wet and warm, poison dart frogs breed year-round. In other areas, breeding is triggered by rainfall. After courtship, the female lays between one and 40 eggs, which are fertilized by the male. Usually both the male and the female guard the eggs until they hatch. Hatching depends on species and temperature, but usually takes between 10 and 18 days. Then, the hatchlings climb onto their parents backs, where they are carried to a nursery. The nursery is a small pool of water between the leaves of bromeliads or other epiphytes. The mother supplements the nutrients of the water by laying unfertilized eggs into it. The tadpoles complete the metamorphosis into adult frogs after several months. In the wild, poison dart frogs live from 1 to 3 years. They may live 10 years in captivity, although the tri-colored poison frog may live 25 years. After the eggs hatch, poison dart frogs carry the tadpoles to a nursery formed by water in bromeliad leaves. kikkerdirk, Getty Images Conservation Status The poison dart frog conservation status varies widely, depending on the species. Some species, such as the dyeing poison frog (Dendobates tinctorius) are classified by the IUCN as least concern and enjoy a stable population. Others, such as Summers poison frog (Ranitomeya summersi), are endangered and decreasing in numbers. Still other species have gone extinct or have yet to be discovered. Threats The frogs face three major threats: habitat loss, collection for the pet trade, and death from the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. Zoos that keep poison dart frogs often treat them with an antifungal agent to control the disease. Poison Dart Frogs and Humans Poison dart frogs are popular pets. They require high humidity and controlled temperatures. Even when their diet is changed, wild-caught poisonous frogs retain their toxicity for some time (potentially years) and should be handled with care. Captive-bred frogs become poisonous if fed an alkaloid-containing diet. The toxic alkaloids from some species may have medicinal value. For example, the compound epibatidine from Epipedobates tricolor skin is a painkiller that is 200 times more powerful than morphine. Other alkaloids show promise as appetite suppressants, heart stimulants, and muscle relaxants. Sources Daszak, P.; Berger, L.; Cunningham, A.A.; Hyatt, A.D.; Green, D.E.; Speare, R. Emerging infectious diseases and amphibian population declines. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 5 (6): 735–48, 1999. doi:10.3201/eid0506.990601La Marca, Enrique and Claudia Azevedo-Ramos. Dendrobates leucomelas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T55191A11255828. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55191A11255828.enSpeed, I; M. A. Brockhurst; G. D. Ruxton. The dual benefits of aposematism: Predator avoidance and enhanced resource collection. Evolution. 64 (6): 1622–1633, 2010. doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00931.xStefan, LÃ ¶tters; Jungfer, Karl-Heinz; Henkel, Friedrich Wilhelm; Schmidt, Wolfgang. Poison Frogs: Biology, Species, Captive Husbandry. Serpents Tale. pp. 110–136, 2007. ISBN 978-3-930612-62-8.

Walt Whitman Homoeroticism in Leaves of Grass Essay

Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s life legacy and at the same time the most praised and condemned book of poetry. Although fearful of social scorn, there are several poems in Leaves of Grass that are more explicit in showing the homoerotic imagery, whereas there are several subtle – should I say â€Å"implicit† – images woven into the fabric of the book. It is not strange, then, that he created many different identities in order to remain safe. What Whitman faced in writing his poetry was the difficulty in describing and resonating manly and homosexual love. He was to find another voice of his, a rhetoric device, and his effort took two forms: simplified, and subverted word play. The first was to understand and render the experience in†¦show more content†¦The difficulty is, however, that there is no language of sexuality by which this knowledge can be conveyed. As seen above, the majority of homoerotic images is concentrated in a cluster of poems titled Calamus. It is noticeable that Whitman tried to express his sexuality directly, but ended up fabricating â€Å"a persona that obscured his true nature† (Bergman 387), thus it is only a bit more particularized than Song of Myself. In The Base of All Metaphysics the lyrical subject speaks of â€Å"the attraction of friend to friend† (Whitman 141), the Socratic notion of love, and it is this kind of love that Whitman seems to be most interested in. Worth mentioning is that in Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand, for example, Whitman has abandoned his mission to be the bard of democracy and took on his own private voice. According to Davidson, â€Å"He has become assertive, even arrogant: the ordinary reader is, as it were, pushed aside† (55), and the reader is supposed to understand it deeply, fully, or understand nothing at all. In the middle of the poem the lyrical subject challenges the reader: â€Å"Here to put your lips upon mine I permit you, / With the comrade’s long-dwelling kiss or the new husband’s kiss, / For I am the new husband and I am the comrade† (135). Another poem interwoven with homoeroticism is To aShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Frances Willard And Walt Whitman Essay1276 Words   |  6 PagesFrances Willard and Walt Whitman are two significant nineteenth century American figures. Although Willard and Whitman are famous for different reasons, they do have one characteristic in common: they have both been accused of being homosexuals. However, most people do not know this because it is not put in history textbooks or taught in the classroom, for good reason. Public school students should not learn about Willard and Whitman’s homosexuality through their textbooks and teachers because itRead MoreWalt Whitman: An Omnisexual Poet2586 Words   |  11 Pages The homosexual themes displayed in Walt Whitman’s works, especially in his most famous collection of poems Leaves of Grass, raise the question of his own sexuality. Many of his poems depicted affection and sexuality in a simple, personal manner, causing nineteenth century Americans to view them as pornographic and obscene. Based on this poetry, Whitman is usually assumed to be homosexual, or at least bisexual. However, this assumption does not account for major influences of his writing such

An Attempt on Defining Art Free Essays

Defining art is similar in defining other complex ideas like freedom, justice, beauty, etc. The problem for defining such concepts is that the concept itself branches out to other different disciplines and defining each and every one of them entails a need for perspective. Through out the ages, mean searched for how a thing is unique from other things. We will write a custom essay sample on An Attempt on Defining Art or any similar topic only for you Order Now Similarly, they thought of how intangible concepts would be defined, be understood by all and be accepted by all regardless of any present force like gender, culture and environment. Numerous dictionaries define art as â€Å"all creative human endeavors, excluding actions directly related to survival and reproduction†; â€Å"any product of the creative impulse, out of which sprang all other human pursuits†; â€Å"requires a creative and unique perception of both the artist and audience†; â€Å"skill required by experience, study, or observation†. The task of having a single definition of art seems to be impossible. Art is mutually exclusive with the one who is attempting to define it. You may ask, what is art after all? The endless conversations would eventually lean to an answer: â€Å"it depends†. With myself, however, I could still define art. This kind of definition came to me during my Communication II class last year. And from thereon, I accepted it with my heart and with my mind. And I think that this would stipulate to me forever. Something becomes art when it has subtleties, when it has hidden messages or concepts lurking behind it, when we have to figure what it is, when we do not understand it on the surface level, when it makes us think, when it gives us headaches, when it seems to have no solution and when it transforms the human mind into a machine fusing all his knowledge and experience in life. With all of these, I believe that the best artwork in the world is something argued by the scholars in deciphering its meaning, and, even better, something unresolved. How to cite An Attempt on Defining Art, Papers