Follow-up ecological studies for cryptic species discoveries: Decrypting the leopard frogs of the eastern U.S.

Cryptic species are a challenge for systematics, but their elucidation also may leave critical information gaps about the distribution, conservation status, and behavior of affected species. We use the leopard frogs of the eastern U.S.

Risks to biodiversity from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (HVHHF) for mining natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales is widespread in Pennsylvania and potentially throughout approximately 280,000 km(2) of the Appalachian Basin. Physical and chemical impacts of HVHHF include pollution by toxic synthetic chemicals, salt, and radionuclides, landscape fragmentation by wellpads, pipelines, and roads, alteration of stream and wetland hydrology, and increased truck traffic. Despite concerns about human health, there has been little study of the impacts on habitats and biota.