ISSN 2348-31ϯX (Print) International Journal of Life Sciences Research ISSN 2348-31ϰ8 ;onlineͿ Vol. 5, Issue 1, pp: (25-27), Month: January - March 2017, Available at: www.researchpublish.com Page | 25 Research Publish Journals Report on the Lethal Effect of House-Hold Paints on Amphibians in Rivers State, Nigeria Chidinma C. Amuzie Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Abstract: The lethal effect of house-hold paints on the adult forms of the African tiger frog, Hoplobatrachus occipitalis, is hereby reported. The specimens which were collected from a gas flaring community in Rivers State (Nigeria), were accidentally kept in a perforated paint bucket for about 12 hours. They were found dead with their internal organs completely digested. The indiscriminate disposal of used house-hold paints and other chemicals into the environment is discouraged as they could pose great danger to both adult and larval stages of some wildlife species. Keywords: lethal, house-hold, paints, amphibians. I. INTRODUCTION Amphibian declines, deformities and malformations have been the subject of many researches in recent times [1], [2]. Amphibians are considered to be the most threatened taxa of the Phylum Vertebrata [3]. The factors responsible for their declines include infectious diseases, like chytridiomycosis [4], trematode infections, such as Ribeiroia ondatrae [5] and Acanthostomum burminis [6], chemical pollution [7], use of fertilizers and pesticides that may lead to eutrophication [8]. Climate change [9] and changes in temperature [10] have also been implicated. The developmental stages of amphibians are those most adversely affected by toxic chemicals and have been employed in most ecotoxicological studies, as against the use of adult specimens [11]. In Nigeria, most research on amphibian ecology have been centred on species diversity and parasitic infections [12], [13]. However, a few others [14], [15] have identified some factors as being responsible for declining amphibian populations in the Niger Delta. The factors included the following: incessant spillage due to burst of oil pipelines and pipeline vandalism which causes the introduction of considerable quantities of petroleum hydrocarbons into amphibian breeding sites, leading to the mass death of eggs and tadpoles, pesticides, reclamation of wetlands for housing and road projects, habitat alteration and fragmentation as well as consumption of the edible species by man. This paper reports the possible role of indiscriminate disposal of left-over household paints in the death and decline of mature amphibian species. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS Specimens of the African tiger frog, Hoplobatrachus occipitalis, were hand captured using the visual encounter and acoustic survey method at night, between the hours of 7.00 to 10.00pm, for use in parasitology studies. This was done in September, 2016, at Agbada (E 4 o 55 ’ 57.006’’, N 7 o 1 ’ 13.692 ’’ ), a gas flaring community in Rivers State, Nigeria. They were transported to the parasitology laboratory in Rivers State University of Science and Technology for the survey of their internal helminth parasites within 12 hours of capture.