Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project

Banded horned tree frog (Hemiphractus fasciatus)

Cute Frog of the Week: September 6, 2010

The banded horned tree frog may not be the most attractive looking thing you’ve ever seen, but that’s the point! Its leaf-like camouflage can trick any number of predators. But if a hawk or other bird of prey is discerning enough to spot one, this feisty fellow has another trick up its sleeve: a horn. The triangular protrusion on the edge of their upper eyelids gives the frogs an aggressive appearance. And it’s no front. Horned tree frogs fight off predators by viciously biting at them. Another handy trait unique to banded horned tree frogs is a flat back, which allows this amphibian to blend into its surroundings in a pinch. It’s also clearly good for giving the kids a lift.

Photo credit: Brian Gratwicke, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

Every week the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project posts a new photo of a cute frog from anywhere in the world with an interesting, fun and unique story to tell. Be sure to check back every Monday for the latest addition.

Before I had even set my luggage down, we were in the Panamanian rainforest looking for frogs.

The night quest—it’s not quite the childhood sport I remember. Sure, your heart is thumping rapidly and you–the frogger–have only moments to figure out the most effective way to wrap your hands around the frog without letting it escape. And when you finally do get your hands around him, you’re spellbound by the feeling of the animal perched there. But I had never actually caught frogs at night as a kid and in the first 24 hours here I’ve found myself on two nighttime frog hunts in the rainforest—one within hours of my plane touching down.

Hello, little frog. I flew 2,071 miles today just to meet you!

During Saturday night’s excursion, I held a red-eyed tree frog in my hand, watched as two tungara frogs in amplexus whipped up a froth of eggs, spotted more than one cane toad and got a good look at the hourglass pattern on the aptly named hourglass frog. Even before I laid eyes on a frog, though, I was swept up in the sounds of a richly diverse world. The chucking of the tungura frogs calling to mates, the chirping of the red-eyed tree frog as air pushes through its larynx. If these are the prima divas (and divos) in the opera of the natural world, then the insects are definitely the orchestra.

Although red-eyed tree frogs are quickly becoming one of my favorite species, this gladiator frog stole my heart on our second night of frogging.

We also ran into a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute frog researcher in the forest. As I understand it, he was studying what combination of sounds and vibrations elicit a response—vocal and physical—from a potential mate. With his camera, we were able to see the world through infrared, including an unknowing red-eyed tree frog who looked eerily supernatural through this lens.

Last night’s excursion was a little different. Certainly more muddy and wet. My first spotting was of a pair of tungura frogs in amplexus. We collected them for a photo shoot before setting them free this morning. We also tracked down two red-eyed tree frogs by following their sound, standing under the tree that seemed to be making all the noise and peering up into the branches as two pairs of big red eyes peered back down at us. Perhaps my favorite discovery of the night was a gladiator frog the size of the palm of my hand. We didn’t collect this guy, but we did spend some time taking beauty shots of him. And oh how beautiful he was.

What is so markedly different about my hunt for frogs now, as an adult, is the feeling of gratitude and relief that I experience each time I see a frog in the wild. Relief that I am in the presence of a living, presumably healthy animal that doesn’t yet need an ark to survive the wave of chytrid in the way many of the highland species do. And relief that even though as an adult I am cursed with the ability to understand just how grave the situation is for amphibians, I am blessed to be part of a project that aims to ensure a biodiverse world for the next few generations of froggers looking for a good night quest.

-Lindsay Renick Mayer, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Vietnamese mossy frog (Theloderma corticale)

Cute Frog of the Week: August 30, 2010

With what is said to be one of the most elaborate camouflage capabilities in the entire animal kingdom, Vietnamese mossy frogs are likely to be overlooked. Their bumpy, spotted skin makes them look like moss or lichen. If they are threatened by a predator, they can curl into a ball to ensure that they’re even better camouflaged. In addition to this talent, Vietnamese mossy frogs can throw their voices like ventriloquists.

Photo credit: Brian Gratwicke, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

Every week the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project posts a new photo of a cute frog from anywhere in the world with an interesting, fun and unique story to tell. Be sure to check back every Monday for the latest addition.

There is the distinct possibility that, lately, my family and friends all think that I’ve gone mad. Frog mad. My Facebook posts are almost exclusively photos of frogs and frog-related news. When someone at a party asks me what’s happening, I’m likely to launch into a lecture about how we need to alter a value system gone awry in order to save frogs. My partner can’t get through the door of our apartment before I pull out my favorite frog photo of the day to show off. And today I’m headed to Panama, where I will work with some of the most beautiful treasures our planet has to offer—and to meet the heroes trying to save them in a world where one species is too dangerously preoccupied to pay much heed to others.

The truth is that I took to frogs early on, learning as a kid to catch bullfrogs in a nearby pond with my bare hands and racing frogs against my sister’s toads on camping trips. But it wasn’t until I started my job at the National Zoo and became a part of the communicatinos team for this rescue project that the interest was re-ignited—and now the passion is yet again aflame.

There’s more to it than a personal fascination with these animals. Somewhere in the detour from my childhood love, I lost my sense of connection to my home—the Earth—and all of the creatures I share with it. Like so many others, I let the very planet that sustains me slip from under me, feeling powerless among the extinctions and oil spills and burgeoning levels of pollution. My interest in frogs is the barometer by which I measure my connection to nature and my willingness to be a fierce steward of its health.

I offer this ridiculously embarrassing photo as evidence of my love for frogs as a kid. (Yes, that's a frog in my hands.)

To a large extent, although many animals need our help, humankind’s effort to conserve amphibians is the barometer by which I measure the health of our values, as they relate to Mother Nature. How can we be responsible citizens of the world if we ignore the largest extinction event since the time of the dinosaurs? How can we not cherish a planet that offers a world so markedly different from those that neighbor us in the solar system and beyond? How can we not feel privileged to be the species with the power to protect all others?

Plus, frogs are just dang cool, from the golden poison frog that can make you numb just by perching nearby (they don’t call him Phyllobates terribilis for nothing!); to the lemur leaf frog who can rival any puppy in cuteness; to the Panamanian golden frog, who waves to potential mates—or even, perhaps, just to greet one another. The biodiversity in the frog world alone is one of the natural world’s gifts that we should celebrate and marvel at.

Today I head to a country that is rapidly losing this part of its natural beauty, like so many other places around the world. For the week I get to be among that beauty, to lend the rescue mission my words, fueled by my childhood passion. A week to be nothing but frog mad.

More dispatches to come throughout the week.

–Lindsay Renick Mayer, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

In 2005, as chytrid was sweeping across Panama from El Cope to El Valle, the Houston Zoo rallied other zoos and aquariums, universities and international conservation organizations to begin work on the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, also known as EVACC.

One of the Houston Zoo's backyard efforts focuses on the Houston toad, which had all but disappeared since being added to the Endangered Species Act in 1973. (Photo courtesy of the Houston Zoo)

EVACC led the Houston Zoo to partner with the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. All rescue project partners work together for a common goal: the survival of the world’s amphibians. But at the same time, we each support conservation efforts in our own backyards. For the Houston Zoo, our ‘backyard’ project involves a small toad with a big story.  

In the late 1940s, Houston, like many metropolitan areas in post WWII America, looked very different from what we see today. Before freeways and tract housing developments, Houston was ringed by dairies and rice fields. It was in that environment sixty years ago that amateur herpetologist John Wottring first suspected that the lengthy trill he was hearing in south Houston fields belonged to an undescribed species of toad.

In just a few years, the species was described in the journal Herpetologica as Bufo houstonensis. The Wottring Toad was a reference to the location of its discovery and its discoverer.

By 1968, James Peters from the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of Natural History, added Bufo houstonensis, to the list of “Rare and Endangered Fish and Wildlife of the United States.” With little fanfare the toad was included in the passing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, likely one of the first amphibian species in the United States, maybe even the world, to be recognized as declining.

Fast forward 30 years to 2006. The Wottring Toad is now known as the Houston Toad, likely a consequence of the regional uproar that took place in its namesake city, despite the fact the toad had not been seen since its ESA listing and believed only to persist in four habitat patches within its central-eastern Texas counties. Its habitat is fragmented, reduced in both quantity and quality and entering a time of record drought.

This past July, more than 600 Houston toad tadpoles and recent emergents were released in Central Texas and another release of 500 toads is planned in the next six weeks. (Photo courtsey of the Houston Zoo)

Under these dire circumstances, in the spring of 2007, parts of the only known egg strands laid by Houston Toads that year were collected for ex situ conservation by biologists at Texas State University and delivered to the Houston Zoo.

The three partial egg strands were acclimated at bio-secure facilities (a modified bird cage at the Houston Zoo), hatched the next day, and started eating a few days later. After a month, the larvae began metamorphosis, and by the fall of the same year, 1,200 toads had been released back to natal ponds.

Support to restore the Houston Toad to its historic range has grown over the past three years. In mid-2007, the AZA’s Amphibian TAG steering committee, along with regional experts from across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean convened at the Ft. Worth Zoo for an Amphibian Ark Species Prioritization Workshop. The Houston toad was ranked a priority and a nascent program was mandated.  The Amphibian TAG published the second edition of its Regional Collection Plan in 2008, during the program selection phase Houston toads were elevated to the PMP management category.

The Houston Zoo’s main role in Houston toad recovery is head starting and the development of a captive assurance colony. This past July, more than 600 Houston toad tadpoles and recent emergents were released in Central Texas and another release of 500 toads is planned in the next 6 weeks. 

The Houston Zoo’s involvement in Houston toad recovery is just one supportive player in the whole effort.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are the organizations charged with conserving the toad and work with partners such as Texas State University, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the myriad of private landowners who recognize the need for and appreciate having the little toad around. Knowing the situation is grim, everyone is responding with active stewardship, increasing the chance for long-lasting positive changes for the species.

 -Brian Hill, the Houston Zoo

Tungara frog (Engystomops pustulosus)

Cute Frog of the Week: August 23, 2010

Try that tongue twister on for size. But in the world of the tungara frog, “chucking” is no laughing matter. The more a male can “chuck,” the more attractive he is to potential mates. This unique call, made only by males, is a sound the ladies love, says the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. But female tungaras aren’t the only ones that perk up to this unlikely siren song. Predators, such as the fringe-lipped bat, do, too. Could you imagine being hunted by a predator and a mate at the same time? Talk about a stressful predicament! But if they make it out alive, the male and female produce foam nests chock full of eggs that—protected from sunlight, disease and heat—will eventually hatch and carry on the “chucking” tune.

Photo credit: Brian Gratwicke, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

Every week the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project posts a new photo of a cute frog from anywhere in the world with an interesting, fun and unique story to tell. Be sure to check back every Monday for the latest addition.

The recent discovery of what may be three new frog species by researchers in Panama illustrates the hope and fear encountered daily by the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. The discoveries lead to hope that project researchers can save these animals from a deadly fungus killing frogs worldwide and the fear that many species will go extinct before scientists even know they exist.

Two of the three potentially new species is a rain frog from the genus Pristimantis. The species pictured here has a bright red stomach that is uncharacteristic for rain frogs, earning it the nickname “red tomato.” (Credit: Brian Gratwicke, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project)

“It is disturbing to witness the disappearance of species that some of us only recently described and even more devastating to lose those we know are probably new species,” said Roberto Ibáñez, local director of the project and a scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, one of nine project partners. “Scientists are just starting to investigate the ecological impact of the loss of amphibians, and while we’re aiming to preserve some of these species, we already know it will be impossible to save them all.”

Nearly one-third of all amphibian species globally are at the risk of going extinct. The rescue project aims to save more than 20 species of frogs in Panama, which is one of the world’s last strongholds for amphibian biodiversity. While the global amphibian crisis is the result of habitat loss, climate change and pollution, the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus is likely at least partly responsible for the disappearances of 94 of the 120 frog species that are thought to have gone extinct since 1980. 

Although it can take years to determine that a species is new to science, project researchers have identified some telltale signs indicating that the three species found in eastern Panama are, indeed, new. The first two are rain frogs from the genus Pristimantis. One of these species has a bright red stomach that is uncharacteristic for rain frogs, earning it the nickname “red tomato.” The second species is much larger than any known Pristimantis in the region. The third frog species appears to be a robber frog, genus Craugastor, but unique skin folds on its arms and feet distinguish it from other closely related species. Robber frogs are especially susceptible to chytrid.

One of the three potentially new species appears to be a robber frog, genus Craugastor, shown here. The unique skin folds on its arms and feet distinguish it from other closely related species. Robber frogs are especially susceptible to chytrid. (Credit: Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute)

A new study by Andrew Crawford, a STRI research associate, and colleagues reveals that many frog species at a site in western Panama have gone extinct before researchers knew they existed. The project’s three potentially new species are evidence of the same story playing out right now in the mountains of eastern Panama. Researchers have brought a handful of animals of each species back to the Summit Municipal Park in Panama City, Panama, where the project has turned used shipping containers into amphibian rescue pods.

“We are doing our best to salvage what we can, but we are in urgent need of funding to build capacity in Panama to house all of these chytrid refugees,” said Brian Gratwicke, a National Zoo research biologist and the international coordinator for the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. “The species is the basic unit of conservation, so these discoveries are rewarding, but that comes with the daunting responsibility of deciding how we look after them. We already have a huge job, and it just gets bigger with every discovery.”

Now project scientists will use collections of frogs from the same region at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum and elsewhere to determine if these species are genuinely new or if they have already been discovered (or “described”) elsewhere. The project has also collected tissue sample to use DNA testing to map out the animals’ closest genetic relatives.

“Finding a new species is like discovering a new Pablo Picasso,” said Gratwicke. “Each species is a priceless creation painted with the brushstrokes of natural selection on the canvas of DNA and has something of value to offer. We might not know how they’re valuable to us right now, but if they go extinct, we lose the opportunity to learn what secrets they hold.”

The mission of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is to rescue amphibian species that are in extreme danger of extinction throughout Panama. The project’s efforts and expertise are focused on establishing assurance colonies and developing methodologies to reduce the impact of the amphibian chytrid fungus so that one day captive amphibians may be re-introduced to the wild. Project participants include Africam Safari, Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Defenders of Wildlife, El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, Houston Zoo, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Summit Municipal Park and Zoo New England. 

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Contact: Lindsay Renick Mayer, Public Affairs Specialist, Smithsonian’s National Zoo (202-633-3081)

Over the last year I have spent countless hours talking to people, explaining why I’m an amphibian conservationist battling to save some of the 2000-odd species of amphibians that are facing extinction. I’ll bet that the bird conservationists saving warblers don’t get that question as often as I do, because birds clearly do matter. Birds are a very accessible form of wildlife, you can see them in your back yards, and they are the sound of nature. Just a few adrenalin-filled moments spent watching a woodpecker and a cardinal having a fight at a bird feeder is enough escapism to lift the burdens of a hard day in the office. Yet frogs do matter for all these reasons and more. The main difference between frogs and birds is that the bird folks are organized and the amphibian conservationists are only just starting to get their act together. Birdlife International has 4000 full-time employees, RSPB has 1,300 staff, the Audubon Society has 600 employees. Even Ducks Unlimited has 500 employees – all working full time applying their skills to bird conservation! Yet in the whole amphibian world there are only a handful of people are working full-time to mitigate the threats facing amphibians. Faced with this dearth of capacity it is no wonder that just 12% of birds are in danger of extinction compared to 32% of amphibians. Since 1980 we have lost just 5 species of birds but over 120 species of amphibians!

That still doesn’t answer the question why does it matter if they go extinct? Humans have many different kinds of value systems. The most obvious one is goods and services that can be exchanged for cash. The best example of the direct value of amphibians is frog legs. These are a culinary curiosity and have obvious direct value that can easily be quantified in dollars. Most people would be surprised to hear that between 1996 and 2006, over 100,000 tons of frogs legs were imported and had a value approaching half a billion dollars! Every year 100 million to 400 million wild-caught animals are imported and exported to nearly every country in the world.

This public service announcement from the Vancouver aquarium elegantly captures how important amphibians are to controlling pests. However, it is difficult to figure out how much these ecosystem services are worth if people aren’t paying for them, they are indirect values. The trouble is it’s tough to know how much something is really worth unless someone is willing to pay for it. One example that gives us a clue about what people may be willing to sacrifice for these indirect services is from India. In 1981 the Indian the frog leg trade peaked, when more than 4,000 tons were exported, mainly to Europe earning revenues of $9.3 million. In 1987, however, India banned frog legs exports, arguing that the cost of importing more pesticides to combat pests in rice paddies devoid of amphibians was outstripping revenues earned from frog leg exports. This contention also contributed to the listing of two species that were targeted specifically for food on Appendix II in CITES.

Many people will justify saving the rain forest, because we don’t know what AIDS cure might be out there, and we don’t want it to go extinct before we find out where to get it, something that we’ll call option values. Well, one of my collaborators, an incredible lady by the name of Louise Rollins-Smith recently discovered that the White’s tree frog from Australia produces a kind of chemical called a caerin (pronounced see-rin) that can block HIV transmission to t-cells! In fact, frog-skins are a real pharmacopeia something I’ve tried to communicate in this illustration below.

The gastric brooding frog from Australia may have held a cure for peptic ulcers, a condition that affects millions of people around the world each year. Unfortunately though, its potential benefits went extinct along with both species in its genus in the 1980’s. Looking at this diagram makes one realize that some values are difficult to prescribe in dollar terms. It makes you think about what we are loosing when you hear stories like one from my colleagues in Panama who recently discovered 10 new species in Panama-after they had already gone extinct!

Amenity values are difficult to quantify in dollar terms, yet frogs are one of the most commonly used animals in classroom education in Western countries. 44-64% of all colleges and secondary schools surveyed in Georgia, USA used amphibians for educational purposes. And how many of us had our first real wildlife experiences catching frogs and kissing them to see if they turned into a prince? Or chasing a bullfrog across the garden lawn in a frog-jumping competition with your friends?

Ethical values are, in my mind, the real justification for saving a species. Many people will spend countless millions on a work of art, a unique object of beauty and fascination that enriches our lives simply because it exists. I feel the same way about a species, when we lose it, it can never be replaced. Like many people before me I find frogs fascinating creatures. In Africa, the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility, Hequet, was often depicted as a frog. In Asia Chan Chu, the three-legged money frog is a popular Chinese symbol for prosperity and it is said to bring wealth into your life. In the America’s pre-Columbian indigenous people crafted frogs in gold and clay talismans called huacas. Today, golden frogs are considered lucky, and adorn Panamanian lottery tickets and crowd tables in tourist markets. In more contemporary settings, one has to wonder what the value is of modern cultural icons such as Kermit or the Budweiser trio of frogs named Bud, Wei and Ser?

So you may be saying right now – I’m not convinced, frogs creep me out. That’s OK, but I would beg to differ with you because I know that frogs do matter. I just want to keep them around so that your children and their children can form their own opinions. Not just by looking at catalogues of extinct species in a library somewhere, but by exploring a stream with their friends and discovering these incredible creatures for themselves.