MSc Student
Supervisor(s): Günter Gollmann, Lukas Landler

Unit for Theoretical Biology, Department of Evolutionary Biology
University of Vienna

Abstract

Amphibians are known to be the most threatened vertebrate group with 41% of the species being threatened with extinction according to the Red List. In addition to the major threats which include habitat loss, climate change and diseases such as Chytridiomycosis, amphibians populating urban areas face further dangers. One of them is light pollution. Studies on anurans have shown that the presence of artificial light at night (ALAN) can lead to multiple changes in their antipredator and mating behaviour as well as the development of eggs and larvae. To investigate the effects of ALAN on the development of larvae, tadpoles of the European Green Toad (Bufotes viridis) will be studied in a laboratory setting. The individuals will be divided into two groups, one of them will be raised with a natural light-dark cycle, the other one will be exposed to continuous light at night. For the identification of differences, the duration of the development and the size of the animals at metamorphosis will be investigated. Furthermore, the tadpoles will be analysed using geometric morphometrics.