Reptile & Amphibian Forums

TIMES FREE PRESS (Chattanooga, Tennessee) 05 September 10 Chattanooga Zoo helps in fight for vanishing amphibian (Michael Stone)
In an effort to help save the disappearing hellbender salamander, zookeepers from the Chattanooga Zoo have teamed up with other keepers and researchers to find out how they can breed the species in captivity for possible reintroduction into the wild.
Hellbenders, which can grow as long as 29 inches and live to be an estimated 80 years old, have been noticeably declining in range and population since widespread documentation of the species began about 20 years ago, researchers say.
“We’re coming into crunch time with this species,” said David Hedrick, lead ectotherm keeper for the Chattanooga Zoo. Ectotherms are animals that can’t control their own body heat.
“The next 20, 30 years are going to determine what’s left in the wild, if much of anything,” Hedrick said.
Hedrick and Rick Jackson, Chattanooga Zoo’s curator of ectotherms, met hellbender and reproduction experts at the Hiwassee River on Saturday to collect sperm samples. The Hiwassee, they said, is one of the few waterways left in the United States that provides ideal conditions for hellbenders.
“They like clean, clear, swift-flowing cool water, and they’re really a fabulous indicator of water quality,” Hedrick said.
Construction, agriculture, mining and other human activities that disturb rivers and streams are displacing hellbenders, he said.
Salamander sperm samples were successfully frozen for the first time last year, and can theoretically last forever, experts say.
The problem is how to breed hellbenders in captivity.
“The Holy Grail of all of this work would be to breed them (in captivity) ‘cause it’s not been done,” Jackson said.
There are many theories on why hellbenders don’t reproduce in captivity. The Chattanooga Zoo is experimenting with two possibilities, Jackson said: lunar cycles and slight changes in environment.
“Basically our goal is to replicate the Hiwassee River,” Jackson said of the zoo’s indoor enclosure.
The Chattanooga Zoo, which began its hellbender research in early 2009, has five of the amphibians.
Though the hellbender is not listed as endangered in some states, Jackson said, there isn’t enough data to classify them in Tennessee.
“What tends to happen is there are more people out looking at cougars and your larger mammals,” he said. “When you go to reptiles and amphibians, a lot of times it’s just a lack of researchers.”
The experts who went on the trip Saturday were from the Nashville Zoo, Lee University, Michigan State University and the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium.
“What I love is that it’s a great collaborative effort,” said Dalen Agnew, a professor of reproductive pathology at Michigan State. “We’ve got people from Europe, from Nashville, from Michigan, from Chattanooga all working together for a pretty cool species.”
Robert Browne, an amphibian researcher from Antwerp Zoo, said Saturday’s effort was a first of its kind.
“This is the first time in the world that we’ve tried sampling of a wild (amphibian) population,” he said. “This is a very important project.”
Hedrick said one of the reasons the hellbender attracts researchers is because the fossil record has dated the species back 150 million years. In that time, the animal has remained “almost exactly the same,” he said.
“They’re just really unchanged through time,” Hedrick said. “So looking at them is kind of like looking back in time.”
Chattanooga Zoo helps in fight for vanishing amphibian

KNWA (Fayetteville, Alabama) 08 September 10 Ozark Hellbender Salamander Could Be Endangered Species (Marci Manley)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Issued this press release regarding the Ozark Hellbender's proposed Endangered Species status:
Citing threats that could lead to extinction of one of the world’s largest salamanders, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to protect the Ozark hellbender as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The Ozark hellbender, which grows to lengths up to 2 feet, inhabits the White River system in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.
Under the ESA, an endangered species is any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Ozark hellbender populations have declined an estimated 75 percent since the 1980s, with only about 590 individuals remaining in the wild.
Most likely, numbers have dropped because of habitat loss resulting from impoundments, ore and gravel mining, sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and nest site disturbance due to recreational uses of the rivers.
Heightening concern is the discovery of a fungal disease, chytridiomycosis (chytrid) in all remaining wild populations of the Ozark hellbender. Researchers are finding chytrid to be fatal to an increasing number of amphibian species worldwide, and it has been proven to kill Ozark hellbenders in captivity. Researchers view chytrid as one of the most challenging threats to the survival of this subspecies.
In addition, biologists are finding that the average age of Ozark hellbender populations is increasing and few young are being found, which indicates that there are problems with reproduction or juvenile survival. This, and the multiple threats from disease and habitat loss, could lead to extinction of the Ozark hellbender within 20 years.
"The low number of Ozark hellbenders, along with the increasing threats posed by the chytrid fungus and habitat loss, are cause for concern for this species," said Tom Melius, the Service's Midwest Regional Director. "Through our proposal to list the Ozark hellbender as endangered, we will take a close look at its status and threats, and gather as much information from the public as we can to help us determine whether it should be protected by the Endangered Species Act."
The Service is also proposing to include the hellbender (including both the Ozark and eastern subspecies) under Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Collection and trade of hellbenders within the United States and internationally is of growing concern, particularly as hellbenders become rarer and, consequently, more valuable.
CITES is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES listing of the hellbender would aid in curbing unauthorized international trade of hellbenders.
Hellbenders are salamanders with large tails and tiny eyes. Adult Ozark hellbenders may reach lengths up to 2 feet, and their flattened bodies enable them to move in the fast-flowing streams they inhabit. Hellbenders are habitat specialists that depend on constant levels of dissolved oxygen, temperature, and flow in their aquatic environment. Even minor alterations to stream habitat are likely detrimental to hellbender populations.
The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal to kill, harm or otherwise "take" a listed species. The ESA also requires all federal agencies to ensure actions they authorize, fund, or undertake do not jeopardize the existence of listed species, and directs the Service to work with federal agencies and other partners to develop and carry out recovery efforts for those species. Listing also focuses attention on the needs of the species, encouraging conservation efforts by other agencies (federal, state and local), conservation groups, and other organizations and individuals.
The Service’s proposal to list the Ozark hellbender as an endangered species appears in the September 8, 2010, Federal Register.
The proposal is also available on the Service’s Midwest website.
The Service is accepting comments on the proposal through November 8, 2010. Send comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Comments may also be mailed or hand-delivered to Public Comments Processing, Attn: RIN 1018- AV94; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.
Ozark Hellbender Salamander Could Be Endangered Species