Jeff Corwin lobbies against mass extinctions

I just got an email message from Jeff Corwin (OK, a lot of people got the same email) on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife. Jeff has been a great friend to Amphibian Ark. He’s taped PSAs you can find on YouTube. He talked about Amphibian Ark and held up a Panamanian Golden Frog on the Ellen Degeneres show. Here’s the email message from him:

Dear Jeff,

Yesterday, I was in Washington, DC to testify on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies.

My message was simple and urgent: Within my youngest daughter’s lifetime, 20-30% of the world’s known species may be on the brink of extinction if we do not act now to address the impacts of global warming on our wildlife.

Congress has heard from me. Now they need to hear from you, Jeff.

Please send your U.S. Representative a message today and urge him or her to dedicate just 5% of the anticipated revenue from new global warming cap and trade legislation to safeguard wildlife and ecosystems in a warming world.

As a wildlife biologist and host of my own show on Animal Planet, I’ve seen the devastating effects that global warming is already having on our world’s wildlife and their habitat.

I have been to the North Pole to study the iconic polar bear, whose habitat is melting away before our eyes.

I’ve traveled the world studying the decline in the planet’s already-vulnerable amphibians – a decline that threatens up to one-third of our amphibian species. And scientists fear that climate change could dramatically accelerate these devastating losses.

But you don’t have to go to the ends of the Earth to find the effects of global warming on our wildlife. The pika and the wolverine in the Rockies, our nation’s waterfowl, even fish, shrimp and oysters are already in trouble.

Join me in urging Congress to protect wildlife threatened by global warming. Please send a message to your U.S. Representative today.

As a biologist, I firmly believe that we should not only reduce carbon emissions that are fueling global warming, but also expand our scientific understanding of global warming’s impacts on the living world.

Without this knowledge, we cannot develop and implement an effective strategy to safeguard our precious wildlife in a warming world. Please urge Congress to take action for our wildlife today.

These are exhilarating and challenging times that we live in. But with the help of caring people like you, I know we can secure the resources, knowledge and action that we need to give our vulnerable wildlife a better chance to survive the threat of global warming.

Sincerely,

Jeff Corwin

 

Wanna watch Jeff Corwin’s amphibian special?

Thanks to the CoquiFrogNews blog , I learned that Jeff Corwin’s Animal Planet special on the amphibian crisis can be viewed in its entirety HERE. Mr. Corwin is right up there with Sir David Attenborough in raising awareness of the crisis, and he is a major supporter of Amphibian Ark.

 

Jeff Corwin steps up, again, to save the frogs

Recently on CBS, Jeff Corwin provided yet another thought provoking explanation of the amphibian crisis. He and Clorox teamed up with Animal Planet for a special that premiered last Thursday night.

 

Auction of species name for nurse frog winding down

You won’t believe where the bid stands right now for the naming rights to this gorgeous frog. The high bidder gets to name this newly discovered species in the genus Anomaloglossus – an endangered “nurse frog” indigenous to Venezuela. The news release from Amphibian Ark says:

“This fantastic frog lays eggs on land! The parents guard the eggs and keep them moist until they hatch, then carry the tadpoles (hence nurse frog) to protected pools of water to complete their development. This previously unknown species was discovered by scientists in 2004.

“The winning bidder’s selected name will be published in a scientific journal. The winner will also receive a photo of the frog engraved with its new name, and a framed letter of thanks from Jeff Corwin. In addition, arrangements can be made to see some threatened frogs in their natural habitat in Venezuela, where the winners’ contribution supports conservation programs.

“The proceeds will be used by Amphibian Ark partners in Venezuela to save some of the country’s most endangered amphibian species – including the new, nurse frog. The auction is being conducted by CharityBuzz.”

Here’s link to the auction site.

 

Frog species naming auction — he’s a beauty

Bidding just opened and will continue through the end of the month on this handsome, unnamed species of collared frog discovered during a National Geographic expedition in Venezuela (shown below). Proceeds go to amphibian species protection, the mission of Amphibian Ark. Jeff Corwin has lent his name to the auction series. The place to bid is here on the CharityBuzz auction site. This is the second species auctioned, out of five planned, in the 5 for  Frogs fund- and awareness-raising campaign that continues through the summer.

 

This is the description from the auction Web page:

Jeff Corwin and Amphibian Ark are proud to auction the exclusive naming rights to this new species of collared frog from Venezuela. This frog species needs a name, and the winning bidder not only will have the honor of naming it, but will also play an important role in saving endangered wildlife. The winning bidder will receive rights to name this amphibian species. The name will be published in a scientific journal. The winning bidder also will receive a photo of the frog engraved with its new name, and a framed letter of thanks from Jeff Corwin. In addition, arrangements can be made to see some endangered frogs in the natural habitat in Venezuela. This species of collared frog is the last one from the Venezuelan Andes that remains to be named. It was discovered in an expedition, financed by the National Geographic Society, of the forests being destroyed for coffee plantations. Some individuals of the species seem to be resistant to a disease called The Bd or Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which is killing frogs all over the world. This means the species may hold hope for a cure. Therefore, proceeds from the auction will fund the research surrounding this phenomenon.

With your help, the new name of this entire species of frogs will become _____’s Collared Frog (Mannophryne ______). The Amphibian Ark staff will work with the winning bidder and the taxonomists authoring the formal paper to ensure that the bidder’s wishes are formulated into a scientifically appropriate format.
Donated by: Amphibian Ark

Terms: Terms: Your visit to Venezuela, which is optional, will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time. Offer expires July 1, 2009. Hotel and airfare not included.

 

TreeHugger hugs the frog

Jeremy Elton Jacquot just posted this on TreeHugger: 

With the hot summer months fast approaching, Amphibian Ark, the international organization helping to keep endangered amphibian species afloat (whose efforts we profiled here), needs your help now more than ever. They’ve just embarked on an ambitious new grassroots initiative, called “5 for frogs,” to get more people involved with their efforts and raise awareness; it’s part of their broader “50 ways to save amphibians” initiative.

Like many of their endangered brethren, a large proportion of amphibian species, whose natural habitats have been especially impacted by the anthropogenic activities and global warming, could go extinct over the coming years — perhaps up to 50% of them. Recently, they teamed up with the Amphibian Project, a like-minded outfit, to organize a fund-raising drive meant to help save the Large-crested toad (i.e. Bufo cristatus for the science buffs in the audience), one of the planet’s most endangered amphibians.

Jeff Corwin and Jean-Michel Cousteau … have also lent their considerable imprimatur to help support AArk’s first frog naming-rights auction, which will end on May 31. The winning bidder will win the naming rights to a newly discovered “walking frog” species, indigenous to the Andes Mountains in Ecuador.

So, please: get involved — picking even one of the “50 ways to save amphibians” will make a big difference — and help make this the year we save amphibians from the brink of extinction.

 

Corwin discovers near-extinct Harlequin frogs in wild in Panama

April 30 /PRNewswire / — While trekking through a remote rainforest in Omar Torrijos National Park in central Panama for the upcoming Animal Planet documentary THE VANISHING FROG, wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin, along with biologists Bill Konstant and Edgardo Griffith of the Houston Zoo, uncovered a small population of a critically endangered frog species that scientists feared had disappeared from the wild. The frogs belong to the genus Atelopus, commonly known as Harlequin frogs. The species in question is Atelopus varius, which is one of two species of golden frogs native to Panama, both of which are on the path to extinction in the wild. The specimens in question were found after an exhaustive search of a remote mountain river where the species was formerly found in great numbers just a few years ago. The specimens discovered on April 6, 2008, included a sub-adult which indicates the species still survives in an area where entire populations of amphibians have been wiped out by a deadly fungus.

THE VANISHING FROG is a joint project of Animal Planet and Clorox, which have joined forces to focus worldwide attention on the deadly fungus which is destroying frogs and other amphibian populations around the world. The film is slated to premiere this fall and sends Corwin on a worldwide mission to uncover clues to the frogs’ deadly plight. The crew was filming work of Amphibian Ark, a global alliance dedicated to saving amphibians that cannot be saved in the wild, at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center in Panama. The Houston Zoo, along with dozens of other educational institutions, universities, zoos and aquariums in partnership with the AZA, are conducting a last-ditch rescue mission and captive breeding program for Panamanian frogs, toads and salamanders at the Center.

“Some in the scientific community consider this species to be extinct in the wild,” a thrilled Corwin beams. “With this rare discovery, it gives us hope that all is not lost in the battle to save this amphibian and others. But it does urgently underscore the importance of this work and emphasizes how fast and nimble we need to be in drawing attention to this global amphibian crisis.”

“This discovery of additional animals from this population nearing extinction is very significant,” added Dr. Kevin Zippel, program director with Amphibian Ark, a global alliance dedicated to saving amphibians that cannot be saved in the wild. “The golden frogs collected by Jeff and the team will be founders for a captive breeding population. Snatched from the jaws of extinction, these animals and their descendants might someday be used to re-establish golden frogs in Panama, assuming threats in the wild can be mitigated.”

The leading cause of amphibian extinction is habitat destruction, but a deadly fungus known as chytrid has led to a dramatic increase in the rate of extinction especially in Panama, Costa Rica and other Central American countries. Additional factors include climate change, environmental degradation, and unsustainable exploitation of wildlife.

Last fall, Clorox, whose namesake bleach* is used to kill the fungus in captive breeding facilities and disinfect field equipment in the battle to save frogs, became the first corporate sponsor of the “Year of the Frog” and signed on to THE VANISHING FROG project while it was still in development. In addition, Clorox is providing funding to complete the construction of a visitors and education center at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center.

Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world’s only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment.

 

Where in the world was Jeff Corwin (in early April)?

Thought you would find this interesting. The blog “SteptoLife: Wael’s Adventures in Panama” ran an English translation of a local media report on Jeff Corwin’s visit to Panama as he was shooting an amphibian documentary (it appears):

Panamá, Friday April 10 2008

Golden frog may escape extinction

“We could be witnessing the greatest extinction since the dinosaurs,” explained Jeff Corwin, host of the popular television show “Animal Planet.” Corwin was in Panama to film the first leg of a research project that will take him South America, Africa and Australia as well.

Corwin is investigating the massive and somewhat sudden extinction of amphibians around the world, specifically frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. Panama has not been spared the disappearance of these sensitive and wonderful creatures. The golden frog, the country’s most well known amphibian, recognized worldwide for its extraordinary beauty, is on the verge of disappearing.

The species has suffered from deforestation and urbanization, but the principal cause of its demise is an aquatic fungus that adheres to its skin, asphyxiating and dehydrating the tiny creature.

The odds of anyone finding the endemic species where Corwin and his knowledgeable guide and colleague, Edgardo Griffith, director of the Centro de Conservación de Anfibios El Níspero, went looking for them, were miniscule. The frog was believed to be extinct in the area.

“A few years ago I was doing a show in the extraordinary region of Darién,” Corwin said, “and we discovered some spectacular species of frogs. Three years later, when I went back to the region to document them, we travelled all over the area and weren’t able to find any.”

Yet to their astonishment, in the town of Copé in the province of Coclé, they found 15 adolescent frogs accompanied by an adult.

The golden frog will be featured in Corwin’s forthcoming documentary, “The Vanishing Frog.”

I had heard that these Animal Planet fellows were here in town. A few young American expats here (children of the Blume family) went with them on their expedition to the Darién, and returned vowing never to do it again.

That’s great news about the the symbol of El Vallé – the golden frog. I have noticed a dramatic reduction in the number and variety of frogs here in El Vallé, and I understand that many species in the wild have disappeared altogether. Hang in there, rana dorada! Fight the fungus that be!

P.S. Prensa.com’s English-language supplement can be found here:

http://prensa.com/hoy/herald.shtml

 

How the number 5 will help save amphibians

Amphibian Ark, a global conservation organization created to raise awareness and rally fundraising to protect endangered amphibian species, announced last week the commencement of its 5 for Frogs campaign. 5 for Frogs is a grassroots crusade with the goal of raising $500,000 to save five endangered species in five months.

The ”pay it forward” spirit behind 5 for Frogs asks kids and adults to do something to help frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians through acts of kindness involving the number 5. It could be as simple as someone telling or emailing five people about the looming mass extinction of amphibians. Or, it could be holding a charity car wash or selling cookies to raise $5, $50, or even $500 for Amphibian Ark to allocate to rescue projects. If thousands get involved, each can play a part in saving five or more species from extinction. Fifty ideas for getting involved in 5 for Frogs are listed on the Amphibian Ark Web site at www.amphibianark.org.

The May kickoff of 5 for Frogs started with a U.S. national FrogWatch on May 3 involving hundreds of students who will monitor the environmental health status of amphibians in their communities through a cooperative effort organized by the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) and the National Wildlife Federation. FrogWatch is a volunteer-based program that encourages everyone to help by getting outdoors and monitoring local wetlands for breeding frogs and toads.

“Not since the disappearance of the dinosaurs have we seen an extinction of this magnitude,” said Jean-Michele Cousteau, supporter of Amphibian Ark and founder of the Oceans Future Society. “Because amphibians are the first to feel the effects of environmental stressors that could ultimately harm humans, and they play a critical role in our ecosystem, the time to act is now.”

In addition to the grassroots activities, 5 for Frogs will feature several global, special events throughout the summer. Five species of amphibians that have not yet been given common names will have their naming rights auctioned, with proceeds earmarked for Amphibian Ark. And, an endangered Mexican species, the Large-crested toad, received special visibility on Cinco de Mayo, celebrated, of course, on the fifth day of the fifth month.

 “It costs only $100,000 to save one species of amphibians, which is a relatively low cost for avoiding extinction,” said Jeff Corwin, supporter of Amphibian Ark and host of The Discovery Network’s Animal Planet. “The Year 2008 has been dubbed The Year of the Frogs by conservationists from around the world to highlight the amphibian crisis and to save the most endangered species from extinction. As a result, the 5 for Frogs campaign could not come at a better time in an attempt to channel these efforts.”

Amphibian Ark is a partnership between the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, and IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. It was formed to develop, promote, and guide short term captive management of threatened amphibians, making possible the long-term survival of species for which adequate protection in the wild is not currently possible. To learn more about Amphibian Ark, the 5 for Frogs campaign, and to review 50 inspirational and creative ways to raise funds for amphibians, please visit www.amphibianark.org.

 

Cousteau video on frogs, amphibian crisis, Amphibian Ark

This is a really great, new video of Jean-Michel Cousteau explaining his personal commitment to Amphibian Ark and overviewing the amphibian extinction crisis. Check out the photo of him and his father, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, and the frog menagerie that Jean-Michel has in his home office.

Amphibian Ark truly is fortunate to have a dream team of conservationist “celebrities” supporting our cause: Jean-Michel is joined by Sir David Attenborough and Jeff Corwin in lending time and talent to make the world take notice that we are in danger of losing up to half of the world’s 6,000 amphibian species. Note that the video ends with the new 5 for Frogs campaign logo. Hope you will get involved.