1.   Also replenished, the village pond, which had lost its frog population.

2.   Herpetologists, who specialize in snakes and amphibians, say they seldom see large numbers of deformities, and almost none among the adult frog population.

3.   In May, alarm over frog populations caused Congress to form the Task Force for Amphibian Decline and Deformities.

4.   Instead, Sierra College biologist Charles Dailey speculates that an insidious snake parasite is infiltrating the frog population, causing grotesque malformations in the process.

5.   Instead, Daily suggested that a parasitic fluke left behind by carnivorous birds may be preying on the frog population to complete its reproductive cycle.

6.   But with an exponential reproduction rate and no enemies other than angry humans, the frog population in Hawaii has exploded.

7.   Campbell, who heads a field research station in Hilo, has been working with the state to experiment with a pure caffeine spray to control the frog population.

8.   Langton said similar diseases have already wiped out frog populations in some parts of Australia and South America.