Study on the impact of sub-lethal concentrations (0mg/L, 0.3gmg/L, 0.75mg/L, 1.5mg/L, 2.25mg/L and 3.0mg/L) of watersoluble fractions (WSFs) of crude oil on the growth performance of the frog Ptychadena mascariensis tadpoles was carried out under laboratory conditions in the University of Port Harcourt, during a 12-week period of exposure in a renewal static bioassay system. Growth of P. mascariensis was observed to reduce significantly with increasing time of exposure and concentrations of WSFs of crude oil when compared with the controls. Weight gain and SGR were all significantly reduced in the test group compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, the length gain was not significantly reduced (P>0.05). The regression coefficient obtained for the length-weight relationship for the frogs in the control was 3.005, while for frogs were exposed to crude oil of various concentrations ranged from 2.0952-2.4369. This suggested an isometric growth form in all specimens in the control and a negative allometric growth pattern for frogs exposed to crude oil. This study indicated that crude oil had a negative impact on the growth rates of and growth pattern P. mascariensis.
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