Amphibians as Bioindicators of the Health of Some Wetlands in Ethiopia

Saber, Samy; Tito, Wondwosen; Said, Rashad; Mengistou, Seyoum; Alqahtani, Abdulaziz

doi:10.12816/0034635

Amphibians as Bioindicators of the Health of Some Wetlands in Ethiopia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

² College of Natural Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

³ Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt

⁴ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and arts, University of Bisha, Bisha, SaudiArabia

10.12816/0034635

Abstract

Background: Ethiopia has a variety of wetlands which provide enormous socio-economic and environmental values. Most of these wetlands are under severe pressure and degradation. Maintaining the health of wetlands is recognized as crucial for protecting biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human health. In order to properly protect and conserve wetlands, it is essential to collect baseline data and establish monitoring programs which can detect change in the health of the wetland over time. One common method for monitoring includes using bioindicators as amphibians.
Materials and Methods: the current study was conducted to assess the health in two areas in Ethiopia, Abijata - Shalla Lakes and Awash National Parks using amphibians as bio-indicators and to predict any changes on the natural environments and resources in the study area.
Results: in Abijata area, less species richness, lower total population index and higher fluctuating asymmetry were observed compared to the second area (Hot spring area) which means that it is more threatened.

Keywords