Föroreningar i akvatiska ekosystem

Sammanfattning: This literature study aims to investigate prior knowledge of the effects of heavy metals on amphibians in freshwater environments. The methodological approach for the study is based on extensive searches in the database called Web of Science. These searches then gets narrowed down with the help of with strategic search words for the subject at spotlight. The final combination of searched words, topics and exclusions gave eleven review articles that was deemed relevant for the subject study’s specific topic. The results showed a scarcity of reviewed articles focusing on amphibian and heavy metal compared to other organisms such as fish. However, several studies claims that an anthropogenic influence in nature has caused or contributed to the decline of amphibian population in freshwater environments. In this study I show that how amphibians are affected by heavy metals in their freshwater habitats is a field that need further attention. There is a gap of knowledge that could affect and further harm already endangered species. Furthermore, the studied articles often apply a narrow perspective that might runs the risk of providing an oversimplified and inaccurate representation of the actual damages of the ecosystem. Such a representation makes it hard for legislature to better combat the pollutions at hand. Lastly, this study also airs the topic of comparability. The results of the studied articles have a varying methodological approach which makes them hard to compare. In an ideal setting all the studied articles would run over a long timespan and be based on field studies rather than laboratory. Furthermore, the studies would focus on multiple metals rather than just one at a time.