Presenters: Rye Bacon ; Angelina Karpenok
Authors: Rye Bacon, Angelina Karpenok, Bryan Loya
Faculty Advisor: Curt Walker
Institution: Dixie State University
Pseudacris hypochondriaca(Baja) andHyla arenicolor(Canyon) tree frogs occupy two different ecological niches in the same region of southern Utah in Washington County. This may have led to the development of different environmental preferences, which may in turn have led to different mechanisms of resistance to chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). In a laboratory setting, the temperature preference for individuals of each species were observed in a tank with a scaled heat surface. The results indicated there was a difference in temperature preferences between the species. These differences may be attributed to contrasting ecological pressures.