I’ve got a resume that’ll make you jealous.

Pepper tree frog (Trachycephalus venulosus)

Pepper tree frog (Trachycephalus venulosus)

Cute Frog of the Week: July 25, 2011

Unlike many specialized species that inhabit Panama, the pepper tree frog can live just about anywhere (and does) and expands the boundary of frog behavior. Listed all together, its attributes make for a compelling resume. If we start reading at the top of the list, we find out that it lives from Argentina’s savannahs to Mexico’s forest fragments, from Brazil’s Amazon rain forest to Colombia’s dry forest, and almost everywhere in between. It is as comfortable in the low coastal canopies as it is in tall trees 1.6 kilometers above sea level. Further down its resume, we come to learn about its swimming trick, in which it uses inflatable vocal sacks to float in shallow pools while calling for a mate. And a bit more impressive: it is a skilled parachutist, capable of gliding, not strictly falling, from canopy branches to the forest floor. The tadpole’s large gills and lungs are the evolutionary result of adapting to oxygen-depleted and warm small pools of water. Last but not least, we get to the trademark attribute. Its skin glands secrete sticky, noxious, and water-insoluble mucus at potential predators. Herpetologists (who wrote the list) have witnessed snakes recoiling from the stuff. In addition, its insolubility helps the frog’s porous skin remain moist during the dry season. Having reached the bottom of the long list, we come to realize just how deep and varied its resume is for a tree frog. Maybe adaptability explains its healthy global population. But why the “pepper” tree frog? The answer: its irritating mucus allegedly makes you sneeze as pepper does (according to reports in Belize).

Photo by John Clare.

Banded horned tree frog (Hemiphractus fasciatus)

 


ALL-NEW frog ringtones:
Download the pepper tree frog’s call!

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.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Stirred, not shaken…

Olive striped frog (Phlyctimantis leonardi)

Olive striped frog (Phlyctimantis leonardi)

Cute Frog of the Week: July 18, 2011

Though what is visible here isn’t reminiscent of the popular martini garnish, this does not mean the olive striped frog isn’t incredibly stylish and suave in its own right. This frog is native to the Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Males range from 45 to 59 millimeters long, but while this frog isn’t the most physically intimidating contender in the amphibian ring, its call makes up for its somewhat diminutive size. Researchers have observed male olive striped frogs calling from bushes approximately 1 to 2.5 meters above the flooded grasslands where these frogs mate. Scientists believe they live in secondary forests and heavily degraded former forests, moving to more open areas like the grasslands to attract potential mates with greater visibility and volume.  According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the olive striped frog is a species of least concern, meaning that while these frogs might be geographically constricted, they currently have few other threats shaking up their status.

Photo by 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.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia

 

“The Hidden Jewels of Appalachia” is a short film that uses compelling imagery to showcase Appalachia and raise awareness for declining Appalachian salamanders.  The Appalachian region of the eastern United States features an ancient mountain chain that serves as the world’s epicenter for salamander biodiversity.  These secretive creatures, ranging in size from two inches to more than two feet, are a keystone species at risk from a perfect storm of threats, including: development, climate change, mountaintop mining, invasive species, disease, transportation corridors, acid rain, pollution, and more.  Learn what these declining “canaries in the coal mine” are telling us about the state of our environment.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is working to become a leader in salamander conservation through innovative research looking at Plethodon species competition and climate change affecting the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiesis), as well as working to connect people to their local environment through public presentations, conducting field surveys and swabbing salamanders for disease.  For more information, please find Appalachian salamanders on Facebook.

–Joe Milmoe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Bright-eyed beauty.

Bright-eyed frog (Boophis calcaratus)

Bright-eyed frog (Boophis calcaratus)

Cute Frog of the Week: July 11, 2011

The quiet that falls over forests in eastern Madagascar with the arrival of night is interrupted by the bright-eyed frog (Boophis calcaratus). This tiny nocturnal frog sounds its calls from its perch in the branches on the outskirts of forests and degraded rainforests. Not all of their time is spent hanging around in the trees, however. They can also be found on the ground, usually near pools of freshwater.

Since this frog is most active from sunset to sunrise, it can be difficult to see with its brown spots and banding. A little light would illuminate how the frog got its name: its eyes. Its large pupils are surrounded by vivid irises. Scientists are not sure why the frogs have such colorful blue-green irises, but they do know that frog species within the Boophis genus can be identified by their eye color, in addition to their calls.

Photo by Gonçalo M. Rosa via ARKive.

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.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Zoo Collegiate Conservation Program aims to save endangered amphibians

Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis)

College interns at the Houston Zoo participating in this summer’s Collegiate Conservation Program worked with Zoo conservation staff to build breeding habitats on Zoo grounds with the goal of increasing the population of Houston toads (photo courtesy of the Houston Zoo).

The next generation of wildlife biologists gathered at the Houston Zoo recently to save an endangered species–the Houston toad.

College interns at the Houston Zoo participating in this summer’s Collegiate Conservation Program worked with Zoo conservation staff to build breeding habitats on Zoo grounds with the goal of increasing the population of the endangered amphibians.

In the spring of 2007, parts of the only known egg strands laid by Houston toads that year were collected for a head start by biologists at Texas State University and delivered to the Houston Zoo.

The eggs came to the zoo for several purposes. The first is as a safe guard, or “assurance population,” against a catastrophic event that might cause the Houston Toad to go extinct in the wild.

The second reason was for the potential reintroduction of toads into appropriate habitat. It is hoped the captive toads will serve as a source for individuals who might be reintroduced into historical localities. The third reason is for head starting.

The eggs hatched and about 1,500 toads completed metamorphosis. We performed three releases in 2007 (May, July and September) and another in April 2008. About 1,200 toads were released in total. The remaining toads were kept at the zoo to start the formation of our assurance colony.

Since 2007 we have head started and released about another 20,000 toads at sites in two counties within the toads’ range.

Now the effort is expanding, and with the help of interns from the Collegiate Conservation Program, the Zoo’s conservation department is moving to the next step–breeding Houston toads ‘the old fashioned way’ (that is, without the use of hormones) in habitats on Zoo grounds.

Recently the interns began the construction of a facility in a shaded off-exhibit area at the Zoo that mimics the toad’s natural habitat: sandy soil that allows the toads to burrow until they are ready to emerge for breeding season.

Established this year with a $50,000 contribution by the ExxonMobil Foundation, the Houston Zoo Collegiate Conservation Program is the only zoo conservation internship program of its kind in the nation.

University students working toward degrees in biology, zoology and environmental science are paid over the summer to study various animals in natural habitats as part of the Zoo internship. In addition to working with Houston toads, the interns are assisting with native Texas coastal prairie restoration and an environmental restoration project in the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Brian Hill, Houston Zoo

The great awakening.

Appenine yellow-bellied toad (Bombina pachypus)

Apennine yellow-bellied toad (Bombina pachypus)

Cute Frog of the Week: July 4, 2011

From the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula to the Apennine region, just south of the Po River Valley, spring signals the awakening of the Apennine yellow-bellied toad (Bambina pachypus) from its long hibernation. This brown spotted toad, with a brightly colored underbelly, wastes no time after coming out of its deep sleep and begins breeding. From May to September the toad will breed multiple times and females will lay clutches of a few eggs to a few dozen eggs in temporary pools of freshwater. Males are ever-ready for the marathon breeding season. They use sperm their bodies produced for the previous breeding season to fertilize eggs early in the breeding season, while new sperm develops to use for later on in the current season. The Apennine yellow-bellied toad will go through this process many times as it can live for up to 16 years in the wild. The average lifespan for the toad is generally half that. It does not reach sexual maturity until it is three years.

The toad’s odd coloring on its underbelly—black and white with large spots of yellow—serves a very distinct purpose. It is a warning to predators that the Apennine yellow-bellied toad is poisonous and not to be messed with.  It secretes a toxic substance when it is threatened. The substance is not all bad; it is also antimicrobial and antifungal.

Photo by Giacomo Radi via ARKive.

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.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Cute Frog of the Week to feature ARKive’s cutest frogs

Riobamba marsupial frog  (Gastrotheca riobambae)

This image of a Riobamba marsupial frog is ARKive Research Manager Dr. Verity Pitts' favorite frog photo in the ARKive collection. (© Pete Oxford / naturepl.com)

Every Monday morning we enjoy sharing with you a particularly adorable amphibian photo, complete with fun facts through our popular Cute Frog of the Week feature. Now, thanks to ARKive–a website containing an extensive collection of photos, videos, facts and updates about endangered species from all over the world–we’ll have even more diverse library of captivating images to share with you. We love that ARKive is helping educate individuals globally through images and wanted to share a Q&A we conducted with Dr. Verity Pitts, one of ARKive’s research managers a senior team member.

1. What was the primary objective for beginning ARKive? Now that it has become such a large site, has this objective changed?

ARKive was launched in 2003 and is an initiative of the international charity Wildscreen.

Wildscreen’s mission is to promote a greater understanding of the natural world, and the need for its conservation, using the emotive power of the very best wildlife films and photos.

A brainchild of the late Christopher Parsons OBE, former Head of the BBC Natural History Unit, and one of Wildscreen’s founders, ARKive was, and still is, a centralized multi-media library of the world’s endangered species.

ARKive not only communicates the wonders of the planet’s biodiversity, but it also provides a safe haven for almost 100,000 film clips and photos–for use by today’s generation and those of the future.

The ethos of ARKive remains true to its origins: providing unrivaled access for people from around the world to amazing imagery, unlocking the wonders of the natural world, in a bid to protect the planet’s precious flora and fauna.

2. What do you think that films and photos can uniquely do for conservation that other actions may not be able to accomplish?

Wildscreen’s Patrons have answered this question very eloquently:

“Natural history films are more than just entertainment. They provide a crucial insight into the world, from which so many of us are increasingly divorced. We cannot properly value what we do not know. I truly believe the films that Wildscreen cares for and promotes are major elements in the battle to protect our imperilled natural world.”
Sir David Attenborough, world-renowned naturalist and broadcaster

“Books and lectures can do a lot to explain the facts of life on this planet, but films and photographs are better at stirring the imagination.”
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

3. What kind of audience does ARKive hope to reach? How does this affect the content that it hosts or shares?

Through ARKive, Wildscreen’s mission has always been to provide people from all walks of life free access to its amazing collection of educational and awe-inspiring content.

Wildlife imagery can be a powerful tool in the fight to combat biodiversity loss and to reconnect people with nature–no matter how young or old. ARKive reveals what species look like, what makes them special and why we should care. Whether in the classroom or lecture hall, at home or in the field, ARKive transcends boundaries, and can be used in numerous educational situations–both formal and informal.

We do tailor information for different audiences, and on ARKive visitors can explore content in lots of different ways–through scrolling galleries of stunning images; by habitats; countries and topics, such as climate change; to fun interactive games and activities.

The ARKive blog is a relatively new feature to ARKive, but it enables us to use the ARKive imagery in different ways, helping us: tell stories about threatened species in the news; publish featured articles; update our visitors with what’s new to ARKive; as well as entertain with quizzes and games.

4. We’re so grateful that you’re helping us out with our Cute Frog of the Week. How has ARKive been able to work with and promote conservation organizations like ours?

Wildscreen recognizes the importance and value of building relationships and works in partnership with organizations from around the world on many different levels.

We believe that heightened public awareness to conservation issues translates into action, campaigning, lobbying and fundraising–all vital for protecting our most endangered species and habitats.

Through ARKive, Wildscreen is able to promote and support the efforts of conservation organizations working on the ground in a bid to save a huge variety of species.

5. ARKive has worked in cooperation with the Smithsonian and Google Earth. What future projects or objectives does Wildscreen hope to accomplish?

Reaching new audiences and engaging more people with the importance of biodiversity is an ongoing priority, whether this is by developing new resources and activities, via outreach programmes and new technologies, or of course through partnership working.

Wildscreen will continue to build on current partnerships and encourage new collaborations to enable additional access to ARKive through multiple third party platforms to reach even greater audiences.

6. What type of reaction do you hope that visitors to ARKive’s site have when browsing through the images?

Wildscreen’s aim is to open the window onto the natural world through its ARKive project. The charity works with the world’s finest photographers, filmmakers, scientists and conservationists to bring scientific names to life.

By inspiring people to care for the natural world and its many wonders, Wildscreen hopes to motivate visitors to become involved in the conservation movement, whether on a local or global level.

7. What do you enjoy most about the work you do at ARKive?

There are now more than 75,000 photos on the ARKive website and each of these has been hand-picked by one of our researchers. We only select the ‘best’ images for each species, which are either engaging portrait shots or shots that tell the story of the species’ life history. However, for some species only a few images exist and tracking these down is a very rewarding task.

Having worked on the ARKive project for nearly eight years, I still enjoy learning about new species and seeing the stunning imagery that is pouring into the office from around the world.

Am I your prince?

Vaillant’s frog (Rana vaillanti)

Vaillant’s frog (Rana vaillanti)

Cute Frog of the Week: June 27, 2011

The next time the princess in a tropically set Pixar fairytale wants to liberate her prince by kissing a frog, she would be wise to seek out the 3.5-inch-long individual, not its larger 5-inch-long counterpart. Like many neotropical species, Vaillant’s frog showcases sexual dimorphism and dichromatism. For example, females are generally larger than males, but males are livelier in color. They sport vivid green while the fairer sex is happy in a subdued gray-brown. The princess might choose Vaillant’s frog because it fits the popularized conception of a frog. Large, stocky, and rugged-looking, it lives a semi-aquatic life, floating and resting on the surface of ponds. Between dense mats of floating vegetation, only its rounded black eyes and green head emerge from the water. On shore, it sits and waits for a passing insect for its meal. But it will also go for fish or birds—a fact that gives you a better sense of its relative size. On land, it expends a lot of energy trying to evade a host of frog-eating neotropical snakes (for example, the Mexican snake eater, Clelia scytalina). If it does run into one, Vaillant’s frog makes a mad dash towards the safety of water, diving headfirst. Next stop: the bottom of the lake, where it lays quietly until the danger has passed.

Vaillant’s frog is found in Costa Rica and Panama and tolerates a wide range of habitat types and human encroachment and alteration. Its population is stable, but pesticide use, primarily from aerial spraying, will threaten it in the future. The chemicals find their way and stay in the water.

Photo by Brian Kubicki, Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center.

Banded horned tree frog (Hemiphractus fasciatus) ALL-NEW frog ringtones: Download the vaillant’s frog’s call!

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.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Sneak attack!

Chacoan horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli)
Chacoan horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli)

Cute Frog of the Week: June 20, 2011

The Chacoan horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli) looks like it is more mouth than frog. Such a large mouth on such a little frog earned it the nickname Pacman frog, from the popular video game. The Chacoan horned frog’s oversized mouth conceals something a little more treacherous—teeth. A row of sharp teeth protruding from the upper jaw come in handy when they are ambushing their prey. This frog seeks out hiding places, usually holes, along the forest floor in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay that complement its green and black or brown and black coloring. It nestles itself in its hiding places and waits, motionless, for a meal to wander in front of it. It strikes, lunging out of its hole suddenly, sinking its teeth into its prey. This frog is not a picky eater. Much of its diet can be made up of other frogs. It is capable of swallowing an animal half of its size and has even been known to attack animals larger than itself. Chacoan horned frogs can grow as large as 15cm and weigh half a kilogram. They can sometimes bite off more than they can chew, and can choke on prey that is too large to swallow.

The Chacoan horned frog’s predatory behavior starts at a young age. Tadpoles are cannibalistic and start eating each other after they hatch from their eggs, which are laid in clumps at the bottom of fresh water ponds. During the breeding season, the frogs lay all of their eggs with the first heavy rain of the year.

The frog has a bad reputation among local human populations, but not one that is warranted. Some incorrectly believe that the frog is venomous. However, this fat little frog has no venom, despite what its bright colors may suggest.

Photo courtesy of: The Houston Zoo

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.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/