Frog Matters

From March 2008 ”Nature” magazine. The story credits D. OLSEN & K. RONNENBERG/USDA FOREST SERVICE for this information.

Last Tuesday’s New York Times featured a short article about a scholarly frog debate: is the spread of chytrid fungus being fueled by global warming? New and old studies draw differing conclusions. It should be noted that the scientists involved actually aren’t arguing — they’re simply pointing to scientifically valid reports that point to different reasons for the spread of chytrid. But I got a chuckle from a “tie breaking” quote from an Australian biologist:

Ross A. Alford, a tropical biologist at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, said such scientific tussles, while important, could be a distraction, particularly when considering the uncertain risks attending global warming.

“Arguing about whether we can or cannot already see the effects,” he said, “is like sitting in a house soaked in gasoline, having just dropped a lit match, and arguing about whether we can actually see the flames yet, while waiting to see if maybe it might go out on its own.”

Photo by Andrea Bulfinch, for Ipswich Chronicle

From Saturday’s Ipswich (Massachusetts, USA) Chronicle:

Fifth-graders at the Paul F. Doyon Elementary School are gearing up for a big night.
Actually it will likely be a few nights this spring, not just one.

An orange sign posted outside the school near the road warns drivers to be cautious of slithering and hopping amphibians who will soon cross the road in that area in search of vernal pools in which to breed. The time during which they migrate is referred to as “big night,” because many migrate all at once. Woodfrogs are just one of several species that will be moving.

The critters will come out of their winter woodland hideouts in search of the pools and the fifth-graders are ready to study their travels.

Lisa Manzi, a fifth grade teacher, said woodland frogs and salamanders will seek the vernal pools when the conditions are just right: above 40 degrees and rainy. Students and parents will come out to study the six different vernal pools in town located at Mile Lane, Pineswamp, Old Wright and Linebrook Roads and Oakwood Knoll.

In the winter, frogs and salamanders are in hibernation or seek shelter underground. But like people, when the temperature turns warmer, it’s time to head out. Exactly when that will happen is unknown.

“We knew at 37 degrees things weren’t happening,” Manzi said.

The students are keeping a keen eye on the weather now.

“The kids are just kind of waiting,” she said.

Parents came in for a training night in March. When the amphibians start moving, parents and students will go out in groups of about 12 to record information on weather conditions and population.

“It’s awesome,” Manzi said of the project.

The information they collect will go onto spreadsheets for the students to study in the classroom. The kids will sort and filter the information to get a comprehensive view of what’s happening.

In the long run, Manzi said, the information is going to be saved on record and shared when development projects are proposed so it’s known what creatures make that area their home.

As for the kids, a rainy night among frogs and salamanders is more than just puddle hopping.

“It helps them learn what’s in their own community,” Manzi said.

Knowing that they are part of an ongoing research project, the students, about 75 of them, know that what they’re doing is important.

The project actually began about 10 years ago, but signs have been posted for the last three or four, Manzi said. By getting the town involved in putting up signs, the students are also learning how to work with others to get things accomplished. They worked with Department of Public Works Director Bob Gravino to get the signs installed. It also teaches them how to teach others, Manzi said.

“It helps them become stewards of their community,” she said.

“Cuba: Wild Island of the Caribbean” airs tonight on PBS’ Nature program. The writeup on the program says that amphibians will be among the subjects of the show: “…more than 80 percent of (Cuba’s) reptilies and amphibians, are found nowhere else on the planet.”

Cuba is somewhat of a mystery, at least to this person writing from his home in the United States. I wondered if the crisis affecting amphibians, for which Amphibian Ark was created, is taking root in Cuba. Sadly, apparently it is. Check out this EcoHealth report from last year that reported a chytrid case in Cuba involving a toad species, specifically a male Bufo longinasus, indigenous to central Cuba. A key excerpt:

To date, chytridiomycosis was not known to occur in Cuba. To our knowledge, this was not only the first report for the island, but also the first time that a Cuban amphibian was found in a decaying condition, possibly tied to an advanced stage of the disease. We were unable to detect other individuals with the same symptoms during our short visit to the locality, but now it is clear that, at the very least, this toad population is confronting a serious threat.

Science Daily reports on the groundbreaking research about the amphibian crisis and chytrid fungus being led by Karen Lips of Southern Illinois University, with help from other partner organizations. Check out the full story here. Key excerpt:

 “If you go and buy an ornamental plant from one of these regions (Central America and South America) and plant it in your yard, or you buy a frog at a pet shop, think about it. If the (chytrid) fungus is there and still alive, it’s now introduced into the environment. Then it can get into your pond or streams.”

Lips said simple testing of such products and organisms before importing them could reveal the fungus’ presence. Once discovered, simple anti-fungal drugs will kill the fungus before it can contaminate an area.

“Our research has shown that once the fungus gets somewhere new it spreads like wildfire,” Lips said. “So the key is preventing it from spreading.”

This line caught my eye in a story about the singing Pacific tree frog in yesterday’s Seattle Times: “If only everyone could hold a singing frog — it’s like holding the voice of spring in your hand.” Well, you can hold the voice of spring in your hand, when you’re holding your cell phone, because the Pacific tree frog is one of the fundraising ringtones you can download for $2.99 from the Amphibian Ark Web site. Click here to go to a page of different frog songs.  A portion of the proceeds of each frog ringtone will benefit Amphibian Ark.

The day Jeff Corwin and Ellen DeGeneres jumped aboard Amphibian Ark.

Kermit just lobbied Congress to save amphibians! The first video below captures his message. For a deeper explanation of why frogs are disappearing and what we can do about it, check out the second video — a 9-minute overview from Kermit’s friend Kevin Zippel, program officer of Amphibian Ark. Special thanks to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and its member, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, for bringing Kermit to Washington, DC.

The Tula Exotarium (in Tula, Russia, which is 193 km south of Moscow) recently held a “Year of the Frog” event and Anna Lebedeva, its Head of Education, sent me this article and great photos. (The photos from the top are:  the  Deputy Director of the Department of the Tula Region on Ecology and Natural Resources kisses a giant tree frog (Litoria infrafrenata);  a “frog guide” educates children about amphibians; visitors got to see Ryabov’s bug-eyed frog (Theloderma ryabovi). Here is Anna’s article. (Thank you, Anna! And congratulations.)

On Feb. 1, the global campaign, “2008 – the Year of the Frog,” started in Tula! At the Tula Exotarium that day, an exhibition of rare amphibians, “Disappearing Princesses” was opened. The exhibit showed how diverse and beautiful these animals are, educated visitors about the extinction threats to amphibians, and explained how everyone can help avert the mass extinction. During the two-week exhibition, visitors were able to admire such animals as:

• The golden poison-arrow frog (Dendrobates auratus)
• Orange and black poison-dart frog (Phyllobates vittatus)
• Fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra)
• Three-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum)
• Smooth-sided toad (Bufo guttata)
• Tomato-frog (Discophus guineti)
• Moss frog (Theloderma corticale)
• Ryabov’s bug-eyed frog (Theloderma ryabovi)
• Black-and-white bug-eyed frog (Theloderma asperum)
• Bug-eyed frog (Theloderma sp.)  (gordoni-group) and many others

Visitors also were able to watch films about these amazing animals and to admire the photographs of amphibians from photographers from Moscow, St.Petersburg, Novomoskovsk and Tula provided specially for the exhibition. Our smallest visitors made frogs of paper. Adults studied the colourful information stands about the International campaign carried out by all Zoos of the world, its aims, its reasons and how they can support it. The most active visitors of the exhibition were able to join the “Amphibian Society”. These are the people who understand the problems of amphibians, sympathize with them and support “2008 – the Year of the Frog.” Every one of them received a badge with the Amphibian Ark/Year of the Frog logo, so that they will be able to wear it during the year and tell others about the amphibian crisis. A frog-guide educated the children about the amphibians of the exhibition, which she showed to them only after the children put on Amphibian Ark masks to demonstrate to the animals their good attitude.

Every television station from Tula and two Federal channels taped reports about the opening of the exhibition and the International campaign “The Year of the Frog”, and also all newspapers of the town and the region wrote articles about it.

It’s not going to surprise you frog watchers that the greatest number of threatened amphibian species is between Mexico and Brazil. But did you know that China ranks fifth? See the chart under the map. I found this in the global info pack that Amphibian Ark uses to support regional zoo associations.