Category Archives: Press release

The global status of Harlequin frogs

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Our planet is home to almost 9,000 amphibian species. For more than 100 years, these animals have dramatically suffered the consequences of deforestation, agriculture, wetland drainage, agrochemicals and other pollutants. In recent times, new threats have emerged making 40% of all amphibian species threatened with extinction under “Red List” released by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which was recently updated. New threats include climate change and emerging infectious diseases. Among them, amphibian chytrid fungi causing skin infections play a key role. These fungi have been spread all over the world by humans and induce the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians, leading to population declines and even extinctions.

Toad Mountain harlequin frogs from  the Darien.

Already 30 years ago, researchers, conservationists and other stakeholders have realized the crisis the amphibians are in. Various initiatives, at the global, regional and local scales have been founded to safeguard amphibian diversity including numerous management and action plans. Due to these activities, we massively augmented our knowledge about where declines happen, as well as the mechanisms behind these and how threats interact. This goes hand in hand with enormous engagement for protecting natural habitats and accompanying captive breeding in conservation facilities. Also, diseases and their agents are much better understood. There have been many stories of success and without all the investment, work and passion of dedicated actors many amphibian species would have become extinct by now!

However, it is difficult to appreciate where we stand in overcoming the amphibian crisis. Threats and the vulnerability to them are not equally distributed over all species. Certain amphibians are more susceptible and suffer more. They represent ‘worst-case scenarios’ of the amphibian crisis. For many of them, we lack sufficient information to access their current status. Not so for harlequin toads, genus Atelopus, from Central and South America. These are small, often colourful and day-active animals that inhabit lowland rainforests to high Andean moorlands (páramos) above tree line.

More than 130 Atelopus species are known and – being highly sensitive to threats – many of them have declined and are even feared extinct. Harlequin toads are the poster child of the amphibian crisis, and due to their iconic appearance, scientists have studied population status data since the early 1990s. In a recent study published in Communications Earth and Environment, Lötters and 99 colleagues, mostly conservationists and researchers from countries where harlequin toads naturally occur, compared population status data as of 2004 and of 2022 to examine species-specific trends over the last two decades.

Data from the authors confirm that massive conservation efforts from many scientists, conservationists and local communities have revealed that more than 30 Atelopus species that in part were feared to have vanished are still there! However, evidence suggests that at the same time all species remain threatened and their conservation status has not improved. Factors threatening the remaining harlequin toads remain unchanged and include habitat change and chytrid fungus spread. In addition, the authors demonstrated that in the future harlequin toads suffer from climate change.

Authors conclude that other worst-case amphibians continue to be imperilled demonstrating that the amphibian crisis is still an emergency. Thanks to the tremendous strength put into conservation, by collaborative networks like the recently launched Atelopus Survival Initiative under the umbrella of the Atelopus Task Force of the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, these amphibians have not yet vanished. It is now more than ever critical to continue and increase efforts to escape the emergency the amphibian crisis still is.

Lötters, S., A. Plewnia, A. Catenazzi, K. Neam, A.R. Acosta-Galvis, Y. Alarcon Vela, J.P. Allen, J.O. Alfaro Segundo, A. de Lourdes Almendáriz Cabezas, G. Alvarado Barboza, K.R. Alves-Silva, M. Anganoy-Criollo, E. Arbeláez Ortiz, J.D. Arpi L., A. Arteaga, O. Ballestas, D. Barrera Moscoso, J.D. Barros-Castañeda, A. Batista, M.H. Bernal, E. Betancourt, Y.O. da Cunha Bitar, P. Böning, L. Bravo-Valencia, J.F. Cáceres Andrade, D. Cadenas, J.C. Chaparro Auza, G.A. Chaves-Portilla, G. Chávez, L.A. Coloma, C.F. Cortez-Fernandez, E.A. Courtois, J. Culebras, I. De la Riva, V. Diaz, L.C. Elizondo Lara, R. Ernst, S.V. Flechas, T. Foch, A. Fouquet, C.Z. García Méndez, J. E. García-Pérez, D.A. Gómez-Hoyos, S.C. Gomides, J. Guerrel, B. Gratwicke, J.M. Guayasamin, E. Griffith, V. Herrera-Alva, R. Ibáñez, C.I. Idrovo, A. Jiménez Monge, R.F. Jorge, A. Jung, B. Klocke, M. Lampo, E. Lehr, C.H.R. Lewis, E.D. Lindquist, Y.R. López-Perilla, G. Mazepa, G.F. Medina-Rangel, A. Merino Viteri, K. Mulder, M. Pacheco-Suarez, A. Pereira-Muñoz, J.L. Pérez-González, M.A. Pinto Erazo, A.G. Pisso Florez, M. Ponce, V. Poole, A.B. Quezada Riera, A.J. Quiroz, M. Quiroz-Espinoza, A. Ramírez Guerra, J.P. Ramírez, S. Reichle, H. Reizine, M. Rivera-Correa, B. Roca-Rey Ross, A. Rocha-Usuga, M.T. Rodrigues, S. Rojas Montaño, D.C. Rößler, L.A. Rueda Solano, C. Señaris, A. Shepack, F.R. Siavichay Pesántez, A. Sorokin, A. Terán-Valdez, G. Torres-Ccasani, P.C. Tovar-Siso, L.M. Valencia, D.A. Velásquez-Trujillo, M. Veith, P.J. Venegas, J. Villalba-Fuentes, R. von May, J.F. Webster Bernal & E. La Marca (2023): Ongoing harlequin toad declines suggest the amphibian extinction crisis is still an emergency. — Communications Earth and Environment, 4, 412. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01069-w

In unprecedented effort, more than 40 organizations from 13 countries come together to protect and restore harlequin toads, the jewels of South and Central America, hard hit by a deadly amphibian disease

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With the formation of the Atelopus Survival Initiative (ASI)–a new alliance of more than 40 organizations from 13 countries–comes a new day for harlequin toads, the jewels of South and Central America’s forests and creeks and a group of amphibians hardest hit by the deadly chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). 

While amphibian researchers and conservationists have worked for many years to save harlequin toads (which make up the Atelopus genus) and groups of species in individual countries, the ASI is bringing them together for the first time to pool the resources, decades of experience and knowledge necessary to prevent the extinction of the entire genus of harlequin toads across the region where these species still survive. 

“As an incredibly diverse group of amphibians facing a number of threats, harlequin toads require innovative solutions coming from a diverse group of individuals and organizations with different expertise, knowledge and capacities,” said Lina Valencia, ASI founder, co-coordinator of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Atelopus Task Force and Andean countries coordinator for Re:wild, one of the primary ASI conveners. “More than ever before, we need a constellation of champions working together to bring harlequin toads back from the brink of extinction. The ASI underscores the vital need to implement on-the-ground conservation actions that will mitigate the main threats to this beautiful group of amphibians.”

Over the past few decades, many harlequin toad species have suffered severe population declines and extinctions throughout their range. Today, of the 94 harlequin toad species that have been assessed by the IUCN, 83 percent are threatened with extinction, while about 40% of Atelopus species have disappeared from their known homes and have not been seen since the early 2000s, despite great efforts to find them. Four harlequin toad species are already classified as extinct, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but this number is likely higher. 

The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes the lethal disease chytridiomycosis, which has resulted in amphibian declines all around the world, including in South and Central America, Australia and the western United States. Although Bd may likely be the primary driver of these declines, a number of other threats are exacerbating the precipitous drops in population numbers. This includes habit destruction and degradation (as the result of animal agriculture, logging, mining and infrastructure development), the introduction of invasive species such as the rainbow trout that prey on harlequin toad tadpoles, pollution, illegal collection for the pet trade, and the effects of climate change.

The ASI and its members, including governments, local communities and Indigenous peoples, will collaboratively address each of these threats–and new ones as they arise–across the genus’s full range, taking into account the social, political and cultural realities of each of the 11 countries where harlequin toads are found. 

“With their beautiful songs and unique lifestyles, amphibians are among the most extraordinary animals on Earth, and among them, harlequin toads stand out for their amazing colors,” said Luis Fernando Marin da Fonte, coordinator of the ASI and director of partnerships and communications for the Amphibian Survival Alliance. “But these colorful and delicate jewels are becoming increasingly rarer. Harlequin toads must be protected not only because of their beauty and uniqueness, but also because of their intrinsic value and biological, ecological and even cultural importance.”

The initiative’s newly developed Harlequin Toad (Atelopus) Conservation Action Plan (HarleCAP) provides the roadmap for conserving and restoring harlequin toads as a genus and their habitat. The action plan’s goals, which ASI aims to achieve by 2041 (the 200th anniversary of the description of the genus Atelopus), include:

  • developing and implementing innovative methods to mitigate chytrid’s impacts on harlequin toad populations and better understanding why some species are less susceptible to the effects of chytrid;
  • protecting and restoring harlequin toads’ forests and watersheds;
  • creating and maintaining conservation breeding programs;
  • searching for species that are lost to science and filling in other gaps in scientific knowledge about harlequin toads;
  • sharing stories that will transform harlequin toads into symbols of hope for the region and the world and a flagship for conservation success, and demonstrate a commitment to the conservation of harlequin toads; 
  • ensuring the Atelopus conservation network has the technical, logistical, and financial support to secure the long-term conservation of harlequin toads

“The establishment of collaborative initiatives at the international and regional level is essential to coordinate efforts and obtain tangible results that have an efficient and real impact on the conservation of an endangered species,” said Gina Della Togna of the Universidad Interamericana de Panamá, Panamá. “The Atelopus Survival Initiative is a concrete example, which not only aims to conserve one species, but an entire genus, perhaps the most threatened by the global amphibian extinction crisis.”

Harlequin toads are found from Costa Rica in the north to Bolivia in the south, and Ecuador in the west and French Guiana to the east. They are known as the jewels of South and Central America in part because of their beautiful and varied colors, which range from orange, green, yellow, brown, black, red, and sometimes even purple. They are celebrated in a number of Latin American cultures, including Indigenous cultures, and across entire countries, like in Panama, where the national animal is the Panamanian golden toad.

Like other amphibians, harlequin toads support healthy ecosystems. Their tadpoles depend on clean water and, because of this, the presence of harlequin toads indicates better quality water in an ecosystem, while their decline or absence is often the first sign of an ecosystem in trouble. 

“Protecting and restoring harlequin toads and their habitats will also benefit the species that share the ecosystems in which they live and that provide water to tens of millions of people, and ultimately all life on Earth,” Valencia said. “And we’re hoping that the ASI will be a successful model that conservationists can emulate for other groups of threatened species.”

 The Atelopus Survival Initiative includes national and international conservation groups, zoos, captive breeding centers, academic institutions, governments and local communities. Its current members represent the following organizations: Amphibian Ark, Amphibian Survival Alliance, Asociación Pro Fauna Silvestre  – Ayacucho, Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos, Bolivian Amphibian Initiative, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centro de Conservación de Anfibios AMARU, Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios/Fundación Jambatu, CORBIDI, DoTS, El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center Foundation, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Florida International University, Fort Worth Zoo, Fundación Atelopus, Fundación Zoológica de Cali, Universidad del Tolima (GHEE), Grupo de Trabajo Atelopus Venezuela, Image Conservation, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Instituto Venezolano de, Investigaciones Científicas, Ministerio del Ambiente de Perú, MUBI (Museo de Biodiversidad del Perú), Parque Explora, Parque Nacional Natural Puracé, Photo Wildlife Tours, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Re:wild, San Diego State University, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Trier University, Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad de Costa Rica, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad del Tolima, Universidad del Magdalena, Universidade Federal do Pará, Universidad Nacional, Universidad Interamericana de Panamá, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), WCS Colombia, Zoológico Cuenca Bioparque Amaru

Mass amphibian extinctions globally caused by fungal disease

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An international study led by The Australian National University (ANU) has found that a fungal disease has caused dramatic population declines in at least 501 amphibian species, including 90 extinctions, over the past 50 years. The study involved collaborations with 41 different amphibian and wildlife disease experts from around the world. Smithsonian scientists contributed data from Panama—one of the worst-hit areas of the world by the disease—for the study.

Of the 90 confirmed extinctions of frogs across the globe, eight of those species were from Panama. Another 52 species of frogs in Panama have experienced more than a 90 percent decline.

“This study confirms that we are not dealing with a unique problem in Panama,” said Brian Gratwicke, amphibian biologist, international coordinator of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, and one of the co-authors of the study who provided data. “If we or anyone does find a solution or cure for chytrid, it will likely have global implications.”

Captive Assurance Colonies

Collaborators like Smithsonian scientists allowed the lead researchers from ANU to get a first-hand insight into the conditions on-the-ground in countries around the world.

Chytridiomycosis, which eats away at the skin of amphibians, has completely wiped out some species, while causing more sporadic deaths among other species. Amphibians, which commonly live part of their life in water and the other part on land, mainly consist of frogs, toads and salamanders.

The deadly disease is present in more than 60 countries – the worst affected parts of the world are Australia, Central America and South America. The researchers found that chytridiomycosis is responsible for the greatest loss of biodiversity due to a disease.
The disease is caused by chytrid fungus, which likely originated in Asia where local amphibians appear to have resistance to the disease.

The unprecedented number of declines places chytrid fungus among the most damaging of invasive species worldwide, threatening similar numbers of species as rats and cats.

Lead researcher Ben Scheele, Fenner School of Environment and Society at ANU, said highly virulent wildlife diseases, including chytridiomycosis, were contributing to the Earth’s sixth mass extinction.

“The disease we studied has caused mass amphibian extinctions worldwide. We’ve lost some really amazing species,” said Scheele.

He said more than 40 frog species in Australia had declined due to this disease during the past 30 years, including seven species that had become extinct.
“Globalisation and wildlife trade are the main causes of this global pandemic and are enabling disease spread to continue,” said Scheele. “Humans are moving plants and animals around the world at an increasingly rapid rate, introducing pathogens into new areas.”

Scheele said improved biosecurity and wildlife trade regulation were urgently needed to prevent any more extinctions around the world.

“We’ve got to do everything possible to stop future pandemics, by having better control over wildlife trade around the world.”

Scheele said the team’s work identified that many impacted species were still at high risk of extinction over the next 10–20 years from chytridiomycosis due to ongoing declines.

“Knowing what species are at risk can help target future research to develop conservation actions to prevent extinctions.”

Scheele said conservation programs in Australia had prevented the extinction of frog species and developed new reintroduction techniques to save some amphibian species.

“It’s really hard to remove chytrid fungus from an ecosystem – if it is in an ecosystem, it’s pretty much there to stay unfortunately. This is partly because some species aren’t killed by the disease,” he said.

“On the one hand, it’s lucky that some species are resistant to chytrid fungus; but on the other hand, it means that these species carry the fungus and act as a reservoir for it so there’s a constant source of the fungus in the environment.

Video by Katie Garrett and Jonathan Kolby

Citation to the Paper: Scheele, B.C., Pasmans, F., Skerratt, L.F., Berger, L., Martel, A., Beukema, W., Acevedo, A.A., Burrowes, P.A., Carvalho, T., Catenazzi, A., De la Riva, I., Fisher, M.C., Flechas, S. V, Foster, C.N., Frías-Álvarez, P., Garner, T.W.J., Gratwicke, B., Guayasamin, J.M., Hirschfeld, M., Kolby, J.E., Kosch, T.A., La Marca, E., Lindenmayer, D.B., Lips, K.R., Longo, A. V, Maneyro, R., McDonald, C.A., Mendelson, J., Palacios-Rodriguez, P., Parra-Olea, G., Richards-Zawacki, C.L., Rödel, M.-O., Rovito, S.M., Soto-Azat, C., Toledo, L.F., Voyles, J., Weldon, C., Whitfield, S.M., Wilkinson, M., Zamudio, K.R., Canessa, S., 2019. Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity. Science (80-. ). 363, 1459 LP-1463. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav0379

 

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Panama’s Ministry of the Environment (MiAmbiente) Participate in Frog Release Trials in Eastern Panama as Part of the Implementation of the Action Plan for the Conservation of Amphibians in Panama

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Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and officials from Panama’s Ministry of the Environment (MiAmbiente) visited the Mamoní Valley Reserve, where release trials are underway to release Limosa Harlequin (Atelopus limosus) frogs. These frogs were bred in captivity and are the descendants of frogs collected a few years ago in the same area.

MiAmbiente was represented by biologists Erick Núñez and Anthony Vega, technicians from the Department of Biodiversity of the Office of Protected Areas and Wildlife. They were accompanied by STRI staff scientist Roberto Ibáñez, director of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (PARC), and Juan Maté, STRI’s manager for scientific affairs and operations and institutional liaison with MiAmbiente. PhD student at the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation at George Mason University, Blake Klocke, who is currently conducting this research, hosted and guided this visit, together with his field assistant, Mirjana Mataya.

Some of the frogs are from the initial release trial conducted in the El Valle del Mammoní Reserve by Panamanian PhD students from Virginia Tech, Daniel Medina and Angie Estrada. They kept the frogs inside enclosures in this reserve to protect them from predators and so that they could obtain samples to determine if they were infected by the chrytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). In a second release trial, Blake Klocke freed these and additional frogs. In this phase of the investigation, one of the objectives is to determine if it is necessary to keep in enclosures before releasing them completely. Some of the frogs were equipped with radio transmitters that allow researchers to follow their movements and estimate the size of their territories.

The visit with MiAmbiente officials was aimed at monitoring the release trials and the progress of research. Blake Klocke showed them how the radio-telemetry tracking system works using mini-transistors. This technological tool, applied to scientific research, allows us to follow the movements of these small frogs. Frogs without radio transmitters were certainly harder to observe. Likewise, measurements of the size and weight of frogs were obtained and samples of their skin were collected with swabs for detection of the chytrid fungus. At this point, the frogs have been kept close to the point of release. However, based on the data being collected, researchers will be able to estimate the future dispersion and survival of the frogs.

The initiative to advance the release trials is part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, known colloquially as PARC and administered by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute under the supervision of MiAmbiente. This project is a collaboration among several organizations including Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Houston Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoological Park and New England Zoo. It has been supported by a long list of sponsors, among them Minera Panama SA.
PARC has two facilities, one at El Níspero Zoo in El Valle de Antón, Coclé, now known as PARC El Valle and the other in Gamboa in the Panama Canal Watershed, known as PARC Gamboa. The PARC El Valle facility received the first rescued frogs, which had been temporarily kept at the Hotel Campestre in 2007, an initiative of the El Nispero Zoo and the Houston Zoo, with funding from the latter as an emergency response to the reduction in numbers of amphibians due to the mortality caused when the fungus arrived in El Valle de Antón in 2006. In 2009, this facility in El Valle came under the umbrella of the PARC project, and has continued its operation within the El Níspero Zoo. In addition, in 2009, PARC Gamboa initially began with the building of facilities at Summit Municipal Park, before relocating to its current location in Gamboa in 2012 to improve and expand capacity for ex-situ conservation of amphibians and create an additional backup at a second site. The PARC project is characterized by the result of the joint effort of multiple organizations and large numbers of people who, over the years, have contributed to the conservation of Panama’s amphibians.

MiAmbiente and the STRI have an inter-agency collaborative agreement under which they work closely on the implementation of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan in Panama approved in 2011. The Plan aims to ensure the conservation of amphibian populations through the implementation of actions that promote research and management, both in situ (in their habitat) and ex situ (outside their habitat) in addition to promoting the education of society in general. This plan integrates specific research, conservation and education activities in the short and medium term with the goal of safeguarding our natural heritage.

This visit served as a joint verification by STRI and MiAmbiente on the progress of the project. An important milestone has been reached in the implementation of this Action Plan, as this is the first time in Panama that an amphibian conservation project is executing the phase where the behavior and survival of frogs reared in captivity is being investigated by exposing the animals to their natural environment. The results of these release trials will be of great use in guiding future efforts to re-establish the populations of certain species of frogs at sites where they have decreased in abundance or disappeared.

Golden frogs with unique communities of skin bacteria survive exposure to frog-killing fungus  

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Chytridiomycosis is an amphibian disease that has wiped out populations of many frog species around the world, including the charismatic Panamanian golden frog, which now exists only in captivity in the United States and Panama.

Research published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society found unique communities of skin bacteria on golden frogs that survived chytridiomycosis. The original experiment was designed to test the idea that antifungal probiotic bacteria may be used to prevent chytridiomycosis in captive golden frogs. Approximately 25 percent of the golden frogs eventually cleared infection, but their survival was not associated with the probiotic treatment, rather it was associated with bacteria that were present on their skin prior to the start of the experiment. In fact, the probiotic antifungal bacteria did not appear to establish on the golden frog skin at all.

Study authors Matt Becker and Shawna Cikanek work to inoculate frogs with beneficial bacteriaMatthew Becker, a fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute who conducted the experiment as part of his PhD research at Virginia Tech University, says it is unclear why the microbes did not linger on the skin, but he thinks that the way he treated the frogs – with a high dose of bacteria for a short duration – may be part of the reason.

“I think identifying alternative probiotic treatment methods that optimize dosages and exposure times will be key for moving forward with the use of probiotics to mitigate chytridiomycosis,” Becker said.

Brian Gratwicke, amphibian conservation biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute where the experiment was conducted, says that he was disappointed that they did not find a ‘silver bullet’ to cure chytridiomycosis in this species, but noted that the results do advance our understanding of this disease.

“Previous experiments found that golden frogs are highly susceptible to chytridiomycosis, so any survival is cause for hope,” said Reid Harris, director of disease mitigation at the Amphibian Survival Alliance. “The tricky piece is figuring out the survival mechanism, and this exciting research gives some new insights in that direction.”

This research also provides additional support for the importance of symbiotic microbes, or the ‘microbiome,’ for the health of their hosts, ranging from sponges and corals to humans.

“In all multi-cellular organisms, we have suites of microbes performing critical functions for their hosts, and the same appears to be true for golden frogs,” said Lisa Belden, who supervised the study at Virginia Tech University.

The team, led by Becker, now plans to determine if this study is repeatable by investigating whether the golden frog’s skin microbiota can predict the susceptibility to chytridiomycosis. They will also investigate whether the bacteria associated with the surviving frogs from this study can be used as a probiotic treatment to prevent infections of golden frogs without a ‘protective’ microbiota.

“The ultimate goal of this research is to identify a method to establish healthy populations of golden frogs in their native habitat, despite the presence of chytridiomycosis in the environment,” Becker said.

Citation: Matthew H. Becker, Jenifer B. Walke, Shawna Cikanek, Anna E. Savage, Nichole Mattheus, Celina N. Santiago, Kevin P. C. Minbiole, Reid N. Harris, Lisa K. Belden, Brian Gratwicke (2015) Composition of symbiotic bacteria predicts survival in Panamanian golden frogs infected with a lethal fungus. Proc. R. Soc. B: 2015 282 20142881; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2881. Published 18 March 2015

Golden Frog Successfully Bred in Captivity in Panama

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Juvenile Panamanian golden frog, reared at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center

Juvenile Panamanian golden frog, Atelopus zeteki, reared at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center

Now in its fourth year, Panama’s Golden Frog Day, August 14, is a salute to Panama’s cultural and ecological heritage with the golden frog, one of the most iconic symbols of Panama. The national legislation promotes species preservation and maintains an objective to promote conservation and protection of this amphibian species. This year the country can celebrate the successful breeding of the Panamanian golden frog at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC), located inside the Níspero Zoo in El Valle de Antón. The egg clutch laid on November 24, 2012 successfully developed into tadpoles and were raised to form a group of 42 healthy young golden frogs.

“Bringing wild animals into captivity is only the beginning of the work that we do in our facility. Fusing applied technology, available resources, and human innovation to create Mother Nature, inside, is the challenge, “ said Heidi Ross, Director of EVACC. “Learning from our past experiences we focused a lot of energy on diet, and as the saying “you are what you eat” applies to humans, it also is essential for amphibians”.

EVACC director, Heidi Ross with a box of juvenile captive-reared golden frogs (Atelopus varius).

EVACC director, Heidi Ross with a box of juvenile captive-reared golden frogs (Atelopus varius).

“We are extremely proud of our conservation team in Panama,” said Peter Riger, director of conservation programs at the Houston Zoo, and one of the principal sponsors of this project. “EVACC has successfully bred both golden frog species in captivity and they have aggressive population management goals to grow the captive population to at least five hundred individuals for each species that I’m sure they will meet.”

The EVACC facility forms part of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. The Project collects frogs in areas threatened by the devastating chytrid fungal disease that has decimated amphibians worldwide. The hope is to learn to raise these animals in captivity until enough is known about the disease to allow researchers to release amphibians into the wild once again. Project partners include the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Houston Zoo, and Zoo New England. To learn more about the project please visit the project’s website.

Contact: Beth King kingb@si.edu 202-633-4700