Reptile & Amphibian Forums

THE TELEGRAPH (Alton, Illinois) 29 February 08 Leap of faith - Zoo president loyal to cause of saving struggling species of amphibians (Jill Moon)
It’s a case of leapfrog in 2008.
This leap year, world zoos and aquariums declared it the Year of the Frog to raise awareness about amphibian species becoming extinct. More than 500 species of amphibians are critically endangered and need to be brought into protective custody, said Saint Louis Zoo president Jeffrey P. Bonner.
The Saint Louis Zoo’s Leap Day Weekend and Awesome Amphibians exhibit opens today in support of amphibians everywhere. Bonner leads a worldwide effort to save as many frog and toad species around the world before they become extinct.
“There’s almost 6,000 species of amphibians and one-third to one-half are endangered,” he said. “We’ve never seen an extinction crisis of this sort since the extinction of the dinosaurs. We’ve not seen this with amphibians in the literally hundreds of millions of years that we have had frogs on this planet.”
Bonner is chairman of the Amphibian Ark, a global conservation effort by world zoos and aquariums to bring those critical 500 endangered species into conservation breeding programs, or they will go extinct within five to 10 years.
The Amphibian Ark consists of the World Conservation Union, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and all of the associations of zoos and aquariums that represent different parts of the world including Australia, Asia and Africa. Large conservation organizations such as Conservation International also are participating.
Amphibians face extinction for several reason but the most pressing threat is amphibian chytrid fungus, which is like athlete’s foot but invisible.
“We exported African clawed frogs and spread the chytrid fungus all over,” Bonner said. “It’s a slow moving disease at 15 to 20 miles a year, but at higher or cooler elevations, it’s terribly lethal. It kills 85 to 90 percent of animals it comes in contact with within a year.”
The year-long Awesome Amphibians exhibit will focus on hundreds of frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and caelilians representing 18 species in a renovated 3,000-square-foot space in The Living World. Families can help celebrate with Leap Day Weekend activities from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the exhibit and event is free.
A pair of rare and critically endangered Chinese giant salamanders, distant relatives of the Missouri Ozark hellbender, will be on display in a 60-foot-long, 7,000 gallon aquarium with a flowing stream and schools of white cloud minnows. The St. Louis Zoo is one of only four U.S. zoos and aquariums to exhibit this species of giant salamander, the largest living amphibian in the world, reaching lengths of nearly 6 feet.
“We want our visitors to know that widespread extinction of amphibians would be catastrophic,” Bonner said. “Amphibians are a critical part of a healthy world. They play an important role as both predator and prey, eating insects which benefits agriculture and minimizes disease spread.
“Their skin also has substances that protect them from some microbes and viruses, offering promising medical cures for a variety of human diseases.”
Awesome Amphibians includes 13 new displays featuring the diversity of amphibian life with emphasis on the problems they face in the wild such as pollution, disease and habitat loss, plus extraordinary measures zoos are taking in order to save them from extinction.
Visitors will discover how important these animals are to the planet, the food web, human culture and the future, and learn what they can do to help in their own backyards. Awesome Amphibians exhibit will be open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through 2008.
Children will dig the “toadally cool” tadpole pool where they can see 150 American bullfrog tadpoles in various stages of their two-year metamorphosis from larvae to adult.
Rowens Kennels owner, Patricia Owens of Brighton, recalled that her children enjoyed observing toads when they were youngsters 40 years ago.
“We had three little toads and they were all different,” said Owens, who owns the kennels with her husband, Robert. “They ate aphids off of plants.”
The Owens children observed them only a few days and turned the toads loose, she said.
Although children are fascinated with frogs, they are not the most popular pets, said pet sitter Donna Taylor, owner of Noah’s Nanny Pet Sitting Service at (618) 447-3647 in Alton. Taylor has been in business for four years and the closest animal to a frog she’s sat is a crab, she said.
“It was a little tiny crab in an aquarium, and they just need to be fed and spritzed with water and that keeps them happy,” Taylor said. “If anyone has any frogs, they can call me and I’ll be happy to take care of them.”
Zoo president loyal to cause of saving struggling species of amphibians

LAKE SUN LEADER (Camdenton, Missouri) 29 February 08 The year of the (leap) frog: International effort to raise awareness of potential amphibian extinction begins Feb. 29 (Brian Fleagle)
Lake Of The Ozarks: Jump into the leap year by bringing awareness to the potentially epidemic problem of widescale amphibian extinction. Through an international effort, 2008 has been declared the 'Year of the Frog' and it will launch on leap day, Feb. 29.
The 'Year of the Frog' is part of a global effort to bring attention to the decline of frog, toad and salamander populations worldwide. Zoos, aquariums and government agencies including the Missouri Department of Conservation are making efforts to educate the public through various programs and exhibits.
Nearly one-third of the approximately 6,000 known species of amphibians in the world are in serious decline. If action is not taken, nearly 500 species will go extinct in five years, St. Louis Zoo president Dr. Jeffery Bonner said.
'We've never seen an extinction this broad before,' Bonner said.
Bonner compares this potential extinction of such a vast array of species unequal to anything since the age of dinosaurs.
There are 24 different species of frogs in Missouri, 12 live in central Missouri. None are classified as endangered. However, the northern leopard frog, northern crawfish frog, wood frog, Illinois chorus frog and eastern spadefoot frog are considered rare, which is only one classification up from endangered, Missouri Department of Conservation herpetologist Jeff Briggler said.
Why should Missourians care?
Even though Missouri has a relatively healthy frog population, residents of the state should still be concerned about the broad extinction of species because amphibians are indicators of the environment's overall health and are important components of ecosystems, Bonner said. Amphibians are contributors to human health, they provide vital biomedicine, including compounds that are being refined for analgesics and antibiotic.
As an example of what medicine can be produced and lost, Bonner described the Australian gastric-brooding frogs that became extinct in the mid-1980s.
These frogs incubated their offspring in the stomach of the mother. The frogs secrete a chemical that would shut down the mother's digestive system. This would have huge medicinal benefits for obesity and ulcers among other uses. All medical uses died with the frog's extinction, Bonner said.
Another example Bonner used to describe the incredible medicinal value of frogs is a potential cure for HIV. Fourteen frog species were randomly chosen, four of the frogs produced a peptide that kills the HIV virus without damaging cells, Bonner said.
Frogs also play a vital role in the food chain. They are both predator and prey. They help control insect populations and are a food source for many larger animals, Briggler said.
What has contributed to this massive decline in such a broad range of species?
According to Bonner, one of the main factors leading to the potential extinction of 500 species is chytrid fungus. Chytrid fungus is thought to have originated in South Africa.
In the 1930s it was discovered that the African clawed frog could be used as a pregnancy test for humans by injecting the frog with female urine. If the frog produced eggs within 24 hours, the test was positive. The frogs remained alive after the test and could be reused.
Through this discovery, frogs were distributed across the globe by the thousands. The chytrid fungus can not be seen on the frog or in the water, making it difficult to manage.
The frogs must be swabbed inside their mouths to discover the killer fungus. Scientist still do not know the exact reason why this fungus is killing frogs in mass numbers, Bonner said.
The fungus kills about 85-90 percent of a species. This means the survivors are walking dead if they can not find others within their species to breed with. However, this also means that 10-15 percent are unaffected or immune to the fungus, Bonner said.
The other leading cause to the decline in the worldwide amphibian population is destruction of habitat. Wetlands across the country and globe have been drained or replaced. Wetlands are necessary for frogs to lay eggs, Briggler said.
What is being done to save the 500 species that are endangered?
Bonner also is the executive chairman of Amphibian Ark. The AArk is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group.
These groups recently met in Washington D.C. to address this pending issue with Congress, Bonner said.
This issue crosses the political aisle. Bonner said both Republicans and Democrats were receptive to addressing this issue.
Bonner said, $40 million could ensure the survival of all 500 species by placing them into a global breeding program.
'We've been very successful with reintroducing frogs,' Bonner said. 'They can live for generations in captivity and are just fine when placed back in the wild. They are simple in that way.'
What can I do to help?
To help with the health of frogs in your immediate area, refrain from using pesticide and herbicides. Frogs absorb everything through their skin and additional chemicals can have adverse effects to their health, Bonner said.
People can make a small pond without fish to provide a habitat for frogs to lay their eggs, Briggler said.
Bonner recommends expressing concerns about this issue to legislators.
Both suggest contributing money to foundations or zoos participating in breeding programs.
Beginning Feb. 29, the St. Louis Zoo will open a new comprehensive exhibit called 'Awesome Amphibians' that will showcase more than 150 frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and caecilians. The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through 2008.
The Missouri Department of Conservation plans to kick off the 'Year of the Frog' with special programs and events at nature centers around the state.
The year of the (leap) frog