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10.10: Role of Amphibians

Difficulty Level: At Grade Created by: CK-12
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Would you eat this?

This is a plate of frog legs! Many people would view this dish as a tasty treat. As you can see, one way amphibians are important to people is that they can be used as a food source.

Role of Amphibians

Humans have used amphibians for a number of purposes for thousands of years, if not longer. Amphibians play significant roles in many food webs and are thus an important part of many ecosystems. Humans have also consumed amphibians, especially frogs, probably since they first ate meat. More recently, amphibians have been tremendously useful in research.

Amphibians as Foods

Frogs are raised as a food source. Frog legs are a delicacy in China, France, the Philippines, northern Greece, and the American south, especially Louisiana. Some estimates have over a billion frogs harvested a year as food.

Amphibians in Research

Amphibians are used in cloning research. Cloning involves making identical copies of a parent organism. They are also used to study embryos because their eggs lack shells, so it is easy to watch their development.

The African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis , is a species that is studied to understand aspects of developmental biology. It is a good model organisms because it is easy to raise in a lab and has a large embryo, which is easy to study ( Figure below ). Many Xenopus genes have been identified and cloned, especially those involved in development.

Many environmental scientists believe that amphibians, including frogs, indicate when an environment is damaged. When species of frogs begin to decline, it often indicates that there is a bigger problem within the ecosystem.

Frog embryos are often studied to better understand how development works.

Amphibians in Popular Culture

Amphibians can be found in folklore, fairy tales, and popular culture. Numerous legends have developed over the centuries around the salamander. Its name originates from the Persian words for “fire” and “within," so many of these legends are related to fire. This connection likely originates from the tendency of many salamanders to live inside rotting logs. When placed into the fire, salamanders would escape from the logs, lending to the belief that the salamander was created from flames.


  • cloning : To make an identical copy of an organism.


  • Frogs are raised as a food source in many parts of the world.
  • Amphibian embryos are ideal to study development since they lack a shell.


Use the resource below to answer the questions that follow.

  1. What is a hermaphrodite?
  2. How does atrazine feminize the frogs?
  1. What is an "indicator" species? Why are amphibians considered to be good indicator species?
  2. What yearly fluctuations are seen in these alpine salamander communities? Do the scientists know what is causing these fluctuations?
  3. Why are long term data sets important in distinguishing between changes caused by human actions and natural fluctuations in a community?


  1. How are amphibians important in environmental science?
  2. How are amphibians used in research?




To make an identical copy of an organism.

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Difficulty Level:

At Grade


7 , 8

Date Created:

Nov 29, 2012

Last Modified:

Oct 11, 2015
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