The impact of pollution from road runoff on lesser treefrogs, Dendropsophus minutus (Anura: Hylidae).

Pollution from road runoff is a complex environmental issue involving a mixture of gases, hydrocarbons, metals, and plastics released by vehicles traveling along roads. In this pioneering study, male specimens of lesser treefrogs (Dendropsophus minutus) were sampled from highway margins (n = 18) and a conserved area (n = 20) in the central Cerrado region of Brazil to evaluate the ecotoxic potential of highway pollution. To this end, we applied the micronucleus test, comet assay, leukocyte profiling, histopathological analyses of the liver and gonads of anurans, as well as chemical analysis of water and collection of atmospheric particulate matter.