Experts Meet to Find Solution to Amphibian Crisis
December 18, 2007
On December 10 and 11, the world's top conservationists assembled at the San Diego Zoo for a special workshop to share information and analyze data about the amphibian population crisis. The group, representing international amphibian and population management experts, met through the auspices of the Amphibian Ark to develop plans for maintaining threatened and endangered species in biosecure facilities as a hedge against extinction.
"The worldwide loss of amphibians is a catastrophe of global proportions," said Robert Lacy, Ph.D., chairman of the World Conservation Union's Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. "Although we are working to understand and reverse the trend towards extinction which is happening in the wild, we recognize that many amphibian species may only survive if we maintain a viable population in zoos."
The project is just one part of a larger effort by zoos and other conservation organizations worldwide to save endangered frogs, salamanders, and other amphibians from extinction. "Zoos and other conservation organizations have taken on the task of preserving species," said Robert Wiese, Ph.D, director of collections for the San Diego Zoo and member of the board of directors for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). "From these meetings we have developed plans for managing these species populations until we can find solutions to the challenges facing them in the wild."
Rapid declines and extinctions in amphibian populations are now being attributed to the rapidly dispersing infectious disease chytridiomycosis, which is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The combined effect of habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and Bd cannot be addressed solely in the wild. Captive assurance populations have become the only hope for many species faced with imminent extinction and are an important component of an integrated conservation effort. Zoos and aquariums worldwide, with their demonstrated expertise in endangered species breeding programs, have been called upon to meet this conservation challenge.
With the strong participation of the San Diego Zoo, AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums are committed to ensuring the survival of all amphibian species and are already an active force in amphibian conservation. Since 2000, they have spent more than $1.1 million on amphibian conservation and research projects in more than 20 countries around the world. Other partners of the Amphibian Ark worldwide have made similar contributions.
More
Focusing Conservation Science Efforts on the Amphibian Decline Crisis: A CRES Symposium
Pathology of Chytrid Fungi and Their Role in the Global Decline of Amphibians
Banking Genome Biomaterials of Terrestrial Vertebrates: Adding Amphibians to the Ark
Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Recovery Program
News Archives:
Rapid Appearance of Fungus Devastates Frogs, Salamanders in Panama; Deadly Organism is likely Heading East
CRES Scientist Fights Deadly Amphibian Fungus in Panama
Endangered Mountain Yellow-legged Tadpoles Turning into Frogs at San Diego Zoo
