An 'Amphibian Ark' for threatened frogs

By: DORIE TURNER

ATLANTA - The familiar melody of ribbits, croaks and chirps is disappearing as a mysterious killer fungus wipes out frog populations around the globe, a phenomenon likened to the extinction of dinosaurs.

Scientists from around the world met in Atlanta at the end of last

week to organise a worldwide effort to stem the deaths by asking

zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens to take in threatened frogs

until the fungus can be stopped.

The aim of the group called Amphibian Ark is to prevent the

world's more than 6 000 species of frogs, salamanders and wormlike

sicilians from disappearing.

 

Scientists estimate up to 170 species of frogs have become

extinct in the past decade from the fungus and other causes, and an

additional 1 900 species are threatened.

 

"This is the precedent of a disease working its way across an

entire species on the scale of all mammals, all birds or all fish,"

said Joseph Mendelson, curator of herpetology at Zoo Atlanta and an

organiser of Amphibian Ark.

 

"Humans would be absolutely stupid if they didn't pay attention

to that."

 

Amphibians - of which frogs make up the majority - are a vital

part of the food chain, eating insects that other animals don't

touch and connecting the world of aquatic animals to land

dwellers.

 

Without amphibians, the insects that would go unchecked would

threaten public health and food supplies.

 

Amphibians also serve important biomedical purposes.

 

Some species produce a chemical used as a pain reliever for

humans; one species is linked to a chemical that disables the virus

that causes AIDS.

 

Amphibian Ark wants zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in

each country to take in at least 500 frogs from a threatened

species to protect them from the killer fungus, which is called

chytrid fungus.

 

Each frog would get cleaned to make sure it doesn't introduce

the scourge into the protected area.

 

The group estimates it will cost between US$400 million and

US$500 million to complete the project.

 

It is launching a fundraising campaign next year to create an

endowment.

 

The scientists say the amphibian collection is simply a

stopgap.

 

It buys time and prevents more species from going extinct while

researchers figure out how to keep amphibians from dying off in the

wild.

 

The fungus isn't the only thing that's deadly to amphibians -

it's just killing them faster than development, pollution and

global warming, said George Rabb, the retired head of the Chicago's

Brookfield Zoo and a leader in Amphibian Ark.

 

Scientists will have to closely monitor frog populations

rereleased into the wild once the fungus is eliminated, he

said.

 

"Right now with global warming and the garbage heap we put in

the atmosphere, there are going to be risks," said Rabb, one of the

country's leading conservation scientists.

 

"That's why we'll need people from other professional fields -

epidemiology, climate change."

 

Scientists aren't quite sure of the fungus's origin, but they

suspect it might be Africa.

 

The African clawed frog, which carries the fungus on its skin

and is immune to its deadly effects, has been shipped all over the

world for research.

 

The clawed frog was also used in hospitals in the 1940s as a way

to detect pregnancy in women.

 

It produces eggs when injected with the urine of a pregnant

woman.

 

The fungus works like a parasite that makes it difficult for the

frogs to use their pores, quickly causing them to die of

dehydration.

 

It has been linked to the extinction of amphibians from

Australia to Costa Rica.

 

Last month, Japan reported its first cases of frog deaths from

the fungus, prompting research groups to declare an emergency in

the country.

 

On the Caribbean island of Dominica, the fungus has almost wiped

out the mountain chicken, a frog species considered an island

delicacy.

 

At Yosemite National Park in California, the mountain

yellow-legged frog is close to extinction.

 

The park has only 650 frog populations left, but 85 per cent are

infected with the fungus and the growing quiet along the park's

lakes is evident as many of the frogs are dying off.

 

Nampa-AP

 

The aim of the group called Amphibian Ark is to prevent the world's

more than 6 000 species of frogs, salamanders and wormlike

sicilians from disappearing.Scientists estimate up to 170 species

of frogs have become extinct in the past decade from the fungus and

other causes, and an additional 1 900 species are threatened."This

is the precedent of a disease working its way across an entire

species on the scale of all mammals, all birds or all fish," said

Joseph Mendelson, curator of herpetology at Zoo Atlanta and an

organiser of Amphibian Ark."Humans would be absolutely stupid if

they didn't pay attention to that."Amphibians - of which frogs make

up the majority - are a vital part of the food chain, eating

insects that other animals don't touch and connecting the world of

aquatic animals to land dwellers.Without amphibians, the insects

that would go unchecked would threaten public health and food

supplies.Amphibians also serve important biomedical purposes.Some

species produce a chemical used as a pain reliever for humans; one

species is linked to a chemical that disables the virus that causes

AIDS.Amphibian Ark wants zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in

each country to take in at least 500 frogs from a threatened

species to protect them from the killer fungus, which is called

chytrid fungus.Each frog would get cleaned to make sure it doesn't

introduce the scourge into the protected area.The group estimates

it will cost between US$400 million and US$500 million to complete

the project.It is launching a fundraising campaign next year to

create an endowment.The scientists say the amphibian collection is

simply a stopgap.It buys time and prevents more species from going

extinct while researchers figure out how to keep amphibians from

dying off in the wild.The fungus isn't the only thing that's deadly

to amphibians - it's just killing them faster than development,

pollution and global warming, said George Rabb, the retired head of

the Chicago's Brookfield Zoo and a leader in Amphibian

Ark.Scientists will have to closely monitor frog populations

rereleased into the wild once the fungus is eliminated, he

said."Right now with global warming and the garbage heap we put in

the atmosphere, there are going to be risks," said Rabb, one of the

country's leading conservation scientists."That's why we'll need

people from other professional fields - epidemiology, climate

change."Scientists aren't quite sure of the fungus's origin, but

they suspect it might be Africa.The African clawed frog, which

carries the fungus on its skin and is immune to its deadly effects,

has been shipped all over the world for research.The clawed frog

was also used in hospitals in the 1940s as a way to detect

pregnancy in women.It produces eggs when injected with the urine of

a pregnant woman.The fungus works like a parasite that makes it

difficult for the frogs to use their pores, quickly causing them to

die of dehydration.It has been linked to the extinction of

amphibians from Australia to Costa Rica.Last month, Japan reported

its first cases of frog deaths from the fungus, prompting research

groups to declare an emergency in the country.On the Caribbean

island of Dominica, the fungus has almost wiped out the mountain

chicken, a frog species considered an island delicacy.At Yosemite

National Park in California, the mountain yellow-legged frog is

close to extinction.The park has only 650 frog populations left,

but 85 per cent are infected with the fungus and the growing quiet

along the park's lakes is evident as many of the frogs are dying

off.Nampa-AP

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