By Staff
Oct. 3, 2001
LIVINGSTON, Ala. "Vanishing Amphibians," a Smithsonian traveling exhibit that examines amphibian biology and worldwide declines in amphibian populations, will be on display at the Webb Hall Gallery on the campus of The University of West Alabama beginning this week.
The exhibit, developed by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition service, also explores the international effort to better understand the extent and causes of these losses in amphibian populations.
In the mid-1980s, scientists identified nearly a dozen populations of amphibian species that were in serious decline or had disappeared altogether. "Vanishing Amphibians" offers several reasons for these disappearances, including habitat loss, contamination of breeding sites by agricultural chemicals, and thinning of the ozone layer.
Exhibit themes are expressed through maps, photographs, graphics and studio components. They help visitors learn about the physiology of amphibians, explore the threats to these delicate creatures, examine the effects of amphibian disappearances on local environments, and better understand what scientists and others are doing to address the problem.
The Webb Hall Gallery is open weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on the campus of The University of West Alabama in Livingston.