Frogs

A four-year survey of a strange salmonella outbreak in children found that the culprits appear to be pet African dwarf frogs, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study released Monday in the journal Pediatrics is the first to link a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium to an amphibian species. Salmonella is typically a food-borne disease: Nontyphoidal salmonella sickens an estimated 1.2 million people per year, hospitalizing 23,000 and resulting in 450 deaths.

African clawed frogs were first brought to California decades ago to help doctors figure out whether their patients were pregnant. After new technology made those pregnancy tests obsolete, the creatures were let loose, and thrived for decades in the state's drainage ditches and ponds. Now there are signs that the proliferation of African clawed frogs may be putting native species in peril. A study published last week in the journal PLOS ONE reveals that they carry a deadly fungus responsible for wiping out vast numbers of amphibians around the world.

African clawed frogs were first brought to California decades ago to help doctors figure out whether their patients were pregnant. After new technology made those pregnancy tests obsolete, the creatures were let loose, and thrived for decades in the state's drainage ditches and ponds. Now there are signs that the proliferation of African clawed frogs may be putting native species in peril. A study published last week in the journal PLOS ONE reveals that they carry a deadly fungus responsible for wiping out vast numbers of amphibians around the world.

For thousands of years, Yosemite toads thrived 10,000 feet high in the Sierra Nevada range, emerging from partially frozen lakes in spring to reproduce and eat enough insects to survive another season of hibernation under the ice. Since the 1960s, however, the once common toad with a musical mating call has been decimated by livestock grazing, fungal infections, pesticides and the appetites of non-native stocked trout. On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed federal Endangered Species Act protection for the Yosemite toad and the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, along with 2 million acres of proposed critical habitat across the range for the cold-climate amphibians.

My fellow local herpetologists and I have noted the decline of frogs, but we did not know that it was part of a larger syndrome. In Southern California, it is easy to blame everything on development and habitat destruction. This, apparently, is not the case worldwide. I do know that places I went for frogs when I was a student in the early '60s no longer support any semblance of the frog populations extant at that time. If Jennings and Mark Hayes and other herpetologists concerned with the decline in amphibians are correct in their theories about why these animals are disappearing, I think we have a lot to think about--but we better do it quickly before this decline spreads irretrievably to the rest of the biome, including us. JERROLD J. FELDNER Van Nuys

To reach one of the last wild populations of the mountain yellow-legged frog on Earth, Adam Backlin and Elizabeth Gallegos tramped down a no-nonsense trail, scaled cliffs and barged through nettles along a vein of water in a scowling canyon deep in the San Gabriel Mountains. Finally, the U.S. Geological Survey field biologists reached the headwaters of the Mojave River, about 15 miles west of Wrightwood. They forded pools and crawled through underbrush to net as many of the endangered frogs as possible and methodically record their vital statistics.

Regarding "Frogs Trump Fish" [Aug. 16], on the removal of trout to protect mountain yellow-legged frogs, while I support the preservation of our natural resources, I am also an advocate of common sense. Have we overlooked that the frogs are part of Mother Nature's food chain? What would be the impact on the world if this frog ceased to exist? Monumental? I don't think so. GARY LEARN La Mesa

Being a frog freak, I want to thank Alan Linn for his thoroughly delightful article (June 2) on the coqui frogs of Puerto Rico. I felt as though I was right there with him as he was searching for the elusive crooners. It was very enjoyable reading. ANNE WILSON Lakewood

The rare mountain yellow-legged frog recovers nicely in lakes once trout are expelled, according to a new study. The frogs swarmed the Sierra a century ago, but their numbers have plummeted since the 1980s and they are endangered in Southern California. UC Berkeley biologist Vance T. Vredenburg monitored 21 mountain lakes for eight years.

Real estate agents in Hawaii are including the presence of certain frogs in their property disclosures, the way that they already disclose termites and other potential hazards. The coqui frog, a native of Puerto Rico, has multiplied in such proportions throughout Hawaii that its distinctive, high-pitched chirp has turned into a nuisance. Agents report that buyers disturbed by the noise level are backing out of deals.

A four-year survey of a strange salmonella outbreak in children found that the culprits appear to be pet African dwarf frogs, according to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study released Monday in the journal Pediatrics is the first to link a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium to an amphibian species. Salmonella is typically a food-borne disease: Nontyphoidal salmonella sickens an estimated 1.2 million people per year, hospitalizing 23,000 and resulting in 450 deaths.

AUSTIN, Texas - Matthew Tucker scored two touchdowns, Jaden Oberkrom kicked two field goals and Texas Christian's defense forced four turnovers in dumping No. 18 Texas, 20-13, Thursday night to get the Horned Frogs their biggest win of their first season in the Big 12. Tucker scored on runs of one and two yards, and the Horned Frogs (7-4, 4-4) dominated the line of scrimmage, running the ball 48 times and passing just 10. TCU had two interceptions inside its own 10-yard line to kill Texas drives and picked up a fumble by Longhorns quarterback David Ash to set up Tucker's second touchdown.

To reach one of the last wild populations of the mountain yellow-legged frog on Earth, Adam Backlin and Elizabeth Gallegos tramped down a no-nonsense trail, scaled cliffs and barged through nettles along a vein of water in a scowling canyon deep in the San Gabriel Mountains. Finally, the U.S. Geological Survey field biologists reached the headwaters of the Mojave River, about 15 miles west of Wrightwood. They forded pools and crawled through underbrush to net as many of the endangered frogs as possible and methodically record their vital statistics.

Texas Christian switches conferences about as often as a 6-year-old changes his mind. TCU sometimes bolts and doesn't bother to show up. The Horned Frogs were packed for the Big East at one point last year but backed out when a conference they could actually see from their front porch, the Big 12, made an offer. Technically, this mark's the Horned Frogs' sixth conference leap since 1995. These guys are the Army brats of football, picking up when duty - or anyone, really - calls.

Jen and I met at Ohio University and started dating while she worked in Chicago and I worked in Washington. We came to Los Angeles in 2001 (her) and 2002 (me). Then, like all couples who move to Los Angeles, we broke up. After two years together, the "L.A. era" of our relationship lasted two months. We parted ways mutually, following an otherwise nice dinner at Bossa Nova on Sunset Boulevard. I drove past it for years thinking, "That place with the surprisingly affordable entrees is where we went the night it ended.

Everyone covets defined abs, and the frog pelvic tilt will help you get there. The exercise comes from Pasadena-based fitness expert, video host and teacher Tracey Mallett (www.traceymallett.com). Mallett is the founder of Booty Barre, a technique that combines elements of dance, yoga and Pilates to strengthen and stretch the body. No prior experience in any of those disciplines is necessary, but maintaining good form is. Make sure that the spine, neck and head are aligned and that the movements are slow and deliberate.

A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers this week said could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species. The aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis was found on Borneo island in 2007, researchers said Thursday in the journal Current Biology. The species is the first frog known to science without lungs and joins a short list of amphibians with this unusual trait, including a few species of salamanders and a wormlike creature known as a caecilian.

Like a teenager hoping his car stereo will attract the attention of girls, male tree frogs in Borneo appear to take advantage of acoustics to attract mates. Researchers have found that males of a species of inch-long tree hole frogs tune their high-pitched mating calls to take maximum advantage of the acoustics of the holes in which they live and sing to fe- males.

NCAA baseball super regional UCLA (45-14) vs. Texas Christian (40-20) at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Schedule: Friday, 6 p.m. (ESPN); Saturday, 6 p.m. (ESPN2); Sunday, if necessary, 7 p.m. (ESPN2). Tickets: All-session adults, $42; youth (3-16), $30. All-session general admission adults, $40; youth, $28. Single-game tickets may be available. Online at uclabruins.com or (310) 825-2946. Last time: UCLA last played in a super regional in 2010, when the Bruins defeated Cal State Fullerton two games to one. UCLA and TCU last met at the 2010 College World Series in Omaha, where the Bruins won two of three games.

— It's always an event when "Farmer Al" Courchesne of Frog Hollow Farm shows up at the Santa Monica farmers market, where he'll be selling apricots and cherries for the next month. He's a celebrity farmer in the Bay Area, folksy yet sophisticated, and his fruit often matches his charisma. Frog Hollow is in Brentwood, 40 miles east of San Francisco in Contra Costa County, one of California's best districts for growing stone fruit, warm during the day but cooled by sea breezes at night, so the fruit stays on the tree long enough to develop full color and flavor.