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Scientists meet in Hungary to discuss saving dying frogs mongabay.com August 27, 2007
Amphibian Ark, as the project is named, is seeking to house 500 individual frogs from each of 500 species in biosecure facilities to protect them from a devastating disease that is fast killing wild amphibians around the world. To kickstart public interest in the campaign, Amphibian Ark has declared 2008 "The Year of the Frog." Money from the campaign will go towards training, capacity building, and setting up facilities for protecting species. Zoos, botanical gardens, and aquariums are expected to play a critical role in the effort since they can serve as breeding grounds for endangered species.
Scientists say the worldwide decline of amphibians is one of the world's most pressing environmental concerns; one that may portend greater threats to the ecological balance of the planet. Because amphibians have highly permeable skin and spend a portion of their life in water and on land, they are sensitive to environmental change and can act as the proverbial "canary in a coal mine," indicating the relative health of an ecosystem. As they die, scientists are left wondering what plant or animal group is next. Related articles Global warming may be key factor in frog deaths. Three papers published in this week's issue of the journal Nature debate the proximate causes for the global decline of amphibians, but nonetheless reveal mounting concerns among scientists over the continuing disappearance of frogs, salamanders, and their relatives. Scientists find possible cure for global amphibian-killing disease. Scientists have discovered a possible treatment for the fungal disease that has killed millions of amphibians worldwide. Presenting Wednesday at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Toronto, Professor Reid N. Harris at James Madison University reported that Pedobacter cryoconitis, a bacteria found naturally on the skin of red-backed salamanders, wards off the deadly chytridiomycosis fungus, an infection cited as a contributing factor to the global decline in amphibians observed over the past three decades. Bad news for frogs; amphibian decline worse than feared. Chilling new evidence suggests amphibians may be in worse shape than previously thought due to climate change. Further, the findings indicate that the 70 percent decline in amphibians over the past 35 years may have been exceeded by a sharp fall in reptile populations, even in otherwise pristine Costa Rican habitats. Ominously, the new research warns that protected areas strategies for biodiversity conservation will not be enough to stave off extinction. Frogs and their relatives are in big trouble more articles Comments? News options
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