Conservation scientists want $404 million to save disappearing amphibiansRhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
September 20, 2005
Yesterday conservation scientists proposed a $404 million effort to preserve declining global amphibian poplations. The strategy would call for funding from governments, private institutions and individual donors to finance long-term research, protect critical habitats, reduce the trade in amphibians for food and pets, and establish captive breeding programs.
No one is certain why amphibian populations are declining around the world. One leading theory links global climate change to the emergence of the deadly chytrid fungal disease. This fungus, which kills frogs by damaging the keratin layer of their skin, has decimated frogs worldwide.
Among the species to disappear is Costa Rica's Golden toad (Bufo periglenes) and the Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus silus) of Queensland, Australia. Habitat loss and pollution are also considered major threats to global amphibian populations.
Strawberry poison-dart frog in bromeliad Dendrobates pumilio, the strawberry poison dart frog, is common in the Atlantic lowland tropical forests of Central America especially Costa Rica. Dendrobates pumilio is well known for its parental care. The female typically lays 3 to 5 eggs in a jelly-like mass that keeps them moist and both parents visit the eggs to ensure their survival. Once the eggs are ready to hatch, one of the parenst steps into the jelly-like mass, freeing the tadpoles. The tadpoles respond to the movement and climb onto the parent's back, where they adhere to a mucus secretion. The parent then carries the tadpoles to up the canopy where they are often deposited in water caught in the upturned leaves of bromeliads. Each tapdole is deposited in a separate pool to increase the likelihood that some offspring will survive predators. More Frog and toad photos |
The disappearance of amphibians is troubling on other grounds as well. Many frogs and toads secrete toxic alkaloids to protect themselves from predators. These alkaloids have been found to have medical applications as pain killers. Thus the loss of each amphibian species eliminates the possibility of finding compounds with potential curative properties.
Time is running out for the world's amphibians; scientists are trying to act before it is too late. The longer the delay, the higher the cost of inaction.
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Toad on brink of extinction, scientists race to study amphibian for bioactive compounds: Under the bright florescent lights of a New York reptile house, a colorful exotic toad makes its final stand. Once gathering by the thousands in the waterfalls of the Kihansi Gorge of Tanzania, the population of the Kihansi Spray Toad now stands at less than 200 individuals. The hasty construction of a desperately needed dam has relegated this species to the fringe of existence. Since medically valuable compounds have been derived from amphibian secretions in the past, researchers at Cornell University are working to determine if any bioactive compounds are present in the skins of Kihansi spray toads before it is too late.
Overstaying Their Welcome: Cane Toads in Australia: Cane toads, a particularly destructive invasive species, are making headlines in Australia after an Australian Minister of Parliament from the Northern Territory sparked outrage from animal welfare groups when he urged people on Australian radio to club toads to death with golf clubs and cricket bats.
This article used quotes and other information from other articles on mongabay.com.
