Global Amphibian Conservation Action Plan Released by IUCN

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The updated Amphibian Conservation Action Plan, a collaborative document authored by more than 100 global experts, is published, collating the most up-to-date evidence base to inform amphibian conservation action.  

Today’s release, the 2024 Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP), synthesises developments in amphibian conservation knowledge and practice over the last 15 years. The IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG), who oversaw the document development, hopes that this freely available updated ACAP will help provide a solid evidence-base for amphibian conservation actions globally, as well as highlighting areas of knowledge where more research is needed. 

Nearly 41% of amphibian species are at risk of extinction according to the Second Global Amphibian Assessment published on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ in 2023, which confirmed the group’s status as the most threatened class of vertebrates. Today’s publication updates earlier versions of the global Amphibian Conservation Action Plan, first published in 2007 and updated as a digital resource in 2015. The Plan highlights the need for urgent action to address this conservation crisis. 

ASG Co-Chair, and one of the documents editors, Professor Amaël Borzée, said “The new ACAP is a cornerstone for amphibian conservation globally, as well as regionally, and it provides an advanced tool kit to all interested in the conservation of these species”. 

 Today’s release is the first of two complementary documents that will make up the 2024 ACAP. This ‘status review’ document, conceived and edited by the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, is authored by over 100 experts from more than 25 countries, most of them ASG members. It synthesises developments over the last 15 years in major themes relevant for amphibian conservation. For each of those themes the authors identify key knowledge gaps and conservation priorities. After two introductory chapters, the document is divided into three sections focused on different aspects of conservation: Threats, Informing decision-making, and Species management. 

The purpose of this updated ACAP document is both to help guide researchers in identifying the most important knowledge gaps, work on which will have a significant impact to on-the-ground action, and to support those implementing amphibian conservation activities to make evidence-based decisions. While not a one-size-fits-all solution all chapters will not be applicable to all species conservation practitioners can pull information from relevant sections to help guide their work.  

ASG’s goal is that this globally scoped document can inform action at regional and local levels, and likewise that ASG acts as a conduit for regional experiences to feed these into global knowledge, improving amphibian conservation action worldwide. 

 “To halt and reverse the long-standing amphibian population declines and prevent more species extinctions, it is critical that amphibian conservation becomes both an integral and a conspicuous part of the biodiversity conservation agenda worldwide” added Sally Wren, ASG Deputy Chair, and lead editor. “Adequate financial and human resources and necessary policy measures are key to addressing this decades-long crisis.” 

Download ACAP at: https://doi.org/10.2305/QWVH2717   

 For more background on the conservation status of amphibians, see the recent State of the World’s Amphibian report, which can be downloaded here: https://www.iucn-amphibians.org/state-of-the-worlds-amphibians/ 

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group
The Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) is part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is a volunteer network of over 300 of the world’s leading amphibian experts providing the scientific foundation to inform effective amphibian conservation action around the world. Under the umbrella of the ASG, the Amphibian Red List Authority is the body responsible for overseeing the assessments of all amphibians on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

IUCN Species Survival Commission 

With over 10,000 members in 186 territories, the Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of the seven expert Commissions of IUCN and enables it to influence, encourage and assist societies to conserve biodiversity by building knowledge on the status and threats to species, providing advice, developing policies and guidelines, facilitating conservation planning, and catalysing conservation action. Learn more at www.iucn.org/ssc. 

 IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature 

IUCN is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of more than 16,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. 

www.iucn.org  https://twitter.com/IUCN/ 

The global status of Harlequin frogs

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

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

New publication! IUCN Guidelines for amphibian reintroductions and other conservation translocations

An exciting new publication has just been released by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) of best practice guidelines for a wide range of amphibian conservation translocations. The project was many years in development through the coordinated effort of numerous translocation specialists across the globe, but the project the led by the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project’s post-doctoral research fellow Dr. Luke Linhoff. The guidelines cover the reasons for conducting amphibian translocations, pre-translocation planning and risk assessment, and also cover important topics such as disease, welfare, human social dimensions, post-release monitoring and reporting results.

A free digital download and more information on the guidelines can be found at: https://www.iucn-amphibians.org/iucn-guidelines-for-amphibian-reintroductions-and-other-conservation-translocations/

Variable Harlequin Frog release trials begin in Panama

Once common along highland streams from western Costa Rica to western Panama, the variable harlequin frog is endangered throughout its range, decimated by a disease caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus. On Jan. 17, Smithsonian researchers released approximately 500 frogs at Cobre Panama concession site in Panama’s Colon province as a first step toward a potential full-scale reintroduction of this species. This release trial is included in Cobre Panama’s biodiversity conservation plan as an important part of their environmental commitments.

Composite image showing variation in coloration within this population of frogs

The variable harlequin frog, Atelopus varius, takes its name from the variety of neon colors—green, yellow, orange or pink—juxtaposed with black on its skin. In order to monitor the released frogs over time, 30 are wearing miniature radio transmitters. The scientific team also gave each frog an elastomer toe marking that glows under UV light to mark individuals as part of a population monitoring study.


“Before we reintroduce frogs into remote areas, we need to learn how they fare in the wild and what we need to do to increase their chances of survival in places where we can monitor them closely,” said Brian Gratwicke, international coordinator of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation project (PARC) at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. “Release trials may or may not succeed but the lessons we learn will help us to understand the challenges faced by a frog as it transitions from captivity into the wild.”

Heidi Ross and her team at our facilities in the Nispero Zoo successfully bred and reared these animals for the release trial

Variable harlequin frogs are especially sensitive to the amphibian chytrid fungus, which has pushed frog species to the brink of extinction in Central America. PARC brought a number of individuals into the breeding center between 2013 and 2016 as chytrid continued to impact wild populations.

 

The field team all assembled with frogs ready for the release trial

“The variable harlequin frog is one of the closest relatives of Atelopus zeteki, Panama’s iconic golden frog, another target species in our captive breeding program,” said Roberto Ibañez, PARC project director at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. “We’ll be monitoring the surrounding amphibian community and the climate at this site, and comparing this to the amphibian community at another, control site. This kind of intensive monitoring will help us to understand disease dynamics in relation to the release trials”

One of our Atelopus varius wearing a mini radio-transmitter

PARC hopes to secure the future for this and other endangered amphibians by reintroducing animals bred in captivity according to an action plan developed with Panama’s Ministry of the Environment and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other stakeholders. “It took us several years to learn how to successfully breed these frogs in captivity,” said Ibañez. “As the number of individuals we have continues to increase, it provides new research opportunities to understand factors influencing survival that will ultimately inform long-term reintroduction strategies.”

The PARC project thanks Cobre Panama, National Geographic Society, Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and The WoodTiger Fund for their generous support.

PARC is a partnership between the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Houston Zoo, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Zoo New England. It has two facilities in Panama: the Gamboa Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center at STRI and the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center at El Nispero. Combined, these facilities have a full-time staff caring for a collection of 12 endangered species.

SCBI plays a leading role in the Smithsonian’s global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists. SCBI spearheads research programs at its headquarters in Front Royal, Va., the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and at field research stations and training sites worldwide. SCBI scientists tackle some of today’s most complex conservation challenges by applying and sharing what they learn about animal behavior and reproduction, ecology, genetics, migration and conservation sustainability.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, headquartered in Panama City, Panama, is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Institute furthers the understanding of tropical biodiversity and its importance to human welfare, trains students to conduct research in the tropics and promotes conservation by increasing public awareness of the beauty and importance of tropical ecosystems.

Update on Golden Frog Conservation Plan Implementation

I am pleased to distribute the Reporte del Taller de Conservación de las Ranas Doradas de Panamá in its official version in Spanish.

golden frog report

The Panamanian golden frog conservation group met in El Valle de Anton in November 2013 to identify and address critical issues necessary to preserve the golden frogs of Panama, foster collaboration and exchange of information, and develop an action plan to expand conservation efforts with a future view.

With the mission of “saving a national treasure, returning the golden frog back to nature”, the group has made significant progress in the management of captive populations, disease, habitat, population viability analysis (PVA) and communication and collaboration.

These are some of the most important achievements:
1. The management of captive populations of golden frogs in Panama and the United States has combined efforts to improve husbandry and increase breeding of their most valuable individuals. EVACC has had a substantial reproduction success in recent years. And the use of technologies of cryopreservation and hormonal treatment is being developed by our partners to improve breeding success.

2. Approximately ten research groups and disease management work in a wide range of projects that generate valuable information about the characteristics and epidemiology of Bd; virulence and transmission; natural defenses and immune response; and frog’s heritability of resistance and/or tolerance to disease, among many others.

3. Rescue missions and diseases monitoring in the wild continue at historic distribution sites of golden frogs. The Project Atelopus found four populations of Atelopus varius in nature and continue the search for other survivor populations.

4. The first PVA is being developed by members of the group under the same name. Leading scientists in natural history, behavior, habitat requirements, captive breeding, and disease modeling participated in a workshop for prioritizing research projects that will provide feedback to these programs.

5. For three consecutive years the group has had regular meetings where progress is reviewed, challenges are identified and solutions are discussed within each working group. They have produced documents published and distributed in scientific journals, major conservation websites such as the red list of endangered species of the IUCN, zoos and aquariums, decision-making organizations and outreach materials for schools and environmental education programs.

6. A strong education component has generated attention and awareness of the general public through activities such as The Golden Frog Festival and its many venues.

Amphibian conservation efforts in Panama are mainly led by Panamanians supported by international funding agencies and donors. One of the project aims is to get more Panamanian investment for conservation while continuing in-country capacity building and support for the reinforcement of conservation laws.

Angie Estrada, Coordinator of the Golden Frog Conservation Plan

New Amphibian Study Helps Smithsonian Scientists Prioritize Frogs at Risk of Extinction

graphical abstractScientists at the Smithsonian Institution and partners have published a paper that will help them save Panamanian frog species from extinction due to a deadly fungal disease called Chytridiomycosis (chytrid). The study, which was published Jan. 4 in Animal Conservation, draws on the expertise of amphibian biologists and scientists the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project to mathematically determine which frog species have the best probability of escaping extinction with the rescue project’s help.
“We don’t want to arbitrarily decide which species lives and which species don’t, nor do we want to waste our time on species that don’t need our help,” said Brian Gratwicke, co-author on the paper and international coordinator of the rescue project out of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. “This study took into account the differences in opinions among amphibian experts in Panama and found consensus in a systematic away. This has allowed us to focus on the species where we have the best chance of making a difference.”

The study also found that eight Panamanian species are likely now extinct in the wild due to disease-related declines. About 80 of Panama’s frog species were too rare for conservationists to prioritize their need for help or the likelihood of successful rescue. The new prioritization scheme, however, will allow the scientists to adapt to new information as it becomes available.

“Over the years, several frog populations—and even species—have vanished or nearly vanished from Panama,” said Roberto Ibáñez, the in-country director of the rescue project at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, “Unfortunately, it is impossible to save them all through conservation programs. With this study, we can focus our limited resources on those species that we are more likely to find in the wild and breed in captivity, while we simultaneously look for a way to manage chytrid.”

Since 2009, the rescue project has been building and maintaining insurance populations of frog species susceptible to chytrid, bringing small groups into captivity to breed as the species crashes in the wild. For each of Panama’s 214 known frog species, the paper’s authors asked amphibian experts to determine the probability that: 1) the rescue project could locate an adequate founding population (20 males and 20 females), 2) the rescue project could successfully breed the species and 3) without the rescue project’s help, the species would go extinct.

While most of the rescue project’s original priority species ranked high based on the new prioritization scheme, the conservationists have already started making some changes. They have determined that the likelihood of successfully breeding La Loma tree frogs (Hyloscirtus colymba) is low and they are instead shifting resources to the recently discovered Craugastor evanesco and the Rusty robber frog (Strabomantis bufoniformis), both of which came up as high priorities.

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is a project partnership between the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Houston Zoo, Zoo New England and Smithsonian Institution.

Meeting on the Conservation of Golden Frogs

Meeting Participants from the golden frog PHVA workshop

Meeting Participants from the golden frog PHVA workshop

From Nov. 19 to 22 a group of scientists from as far as Australia met at the Hotel Campestre for The Golden Frog Population Habitat Viability Analysis workshop. The participants from around the world met to share information on the current status of Panamanian golden frogs in captivity and in the wild. They began an open dialog about concerns regarding Panamanian golden frog conservation, education and community engagement, as well as how to create a framework to coordinate and guide the work of those dedicated to the golden frog recovery. 

The meeting was convened by the Project Golden Frog and the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project  and facilitated by the IUCN Conservation Breeding Specialist Group with support form the Anela Kolohe Foundation and the Shared Earth Foundation.

Panama’s National Amphibian Conservation Action Plan

Panama City, March 29, 2012.

The National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute today presented the “Action Plan for the Conservation of Amphibians in Panama,” the first step in a series of actions to address the alarming decline of amphibians in Panama.

Atelopus certus, an endangered Panamanian amphibian

Amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians) were the first vertebrates to populate the land environment. They present biological and ecological characteristics that make them extremely sensitive to changes in their environment. They are an important part of the ecological balance, as they feed on large quantities of insects and in turn are food for other animals. For this reason, they are widely used as indicators and as a warning system to alert to factors that influence health or environmental quality.

In 1989, scientists sounded the alarm because amphibian populations worldwide were declining. A few years later, they discovered that frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians were disappearing due to a fungus that causes a disease known as chytridiomycosis, and that this decline in populations and disappearance of species was more evident in Panama than anywhere else in the world.

It has been confirmed that in Panama this disease is responsible for the progressive and sustained decline of the greater part of the country’s frog and toad populations. According to the IUCN Red List, of the 197 species of amphibians recorded in Panama, around 25% – about 50 species – are listed as threatened. The disease has devastated frogs from the highlands of western and central Panama and is spreading eastward across the country.

The speed and lethality of this fungal pathogen highlights the need to respond quickly, as scientists predict that before long the disease will spread throughout the entire country, reaching areas of high amphibian richness such as the Darien. This situation is aggravated by the imminent disappearance of species which might contain medicinal compounds (analgesics, antifungals) in their skin, or which may not yet have been described by science.

For this reason, the Action Plan for the Conservation of Amphibians in Panama seeks close collaboration with various stakeholders to carry out participatory planning, integrate initiatives, optimize resources and identify potential funding sources. The Plan details specific research, conservation and education components for the short and medium term to ensure future populations.

The Research component seeks to propose and promote specific actions that will generate scientific information for understanding the problem and implementing conservation strategies. The Conservation component includes the ex-situ conservation project as an immediate response to preserve in captivity those species of amphibians currently under threat in their natural habitat. Finally, the Education component seeks to implement education programs and information campaigns aimed at raising public awareness, which will in turn facilitate the implementation of conservation measures.

– Mónica Alvarado Garrido, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute