'Extinction in our times: global amphibian decline'

Jim Collins and Martha Crump have published a 304-page book on amphibian declines. Extinction in our times sets out the key events that led to a realisation that amphibian declines were not only real, but were also occurring globally. Collins & Crump have written an impartial and detailed overview of the known, and unknown factors driving declines, as well as the complex inter-relationships between scientific agendas, industrial interests, government policy and conservation ethics. It's a great read, essential for all those who work on, or are interested in, amphiban declines. A review of the book by Mat Fisher can be read in PLoS Biology.

More Bad News for Mountain Chickens

As previously posted, the Mountain Chicken Frog, Leptodactylus fallax, suffered catastrophic decline due to the emergence of Bd on the island of Dominica. Previous research had shown that the only other island where the species occurs, Montserrat, was Bd-free (Garcia et al. 2007, Oryx 41(3): 398-401). This is no longer the case. Bd emerged this spring on Montserrat, and dead chooks were first detected near the main port, suggesting that Bd came onto Montserrat through interisland trade (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7948124.stm). Whatever the route of introduction, Bd has spread rapidly and it is starting to look like we may add another species to the extinct in the wild due to Bd category. Calling males are almost never heard on Dominica, and what few frogs are found there are usually morbund due to advanced chytridiomycosis. The Montserrat frogs already inhabited a narrow range due to the destruction of much of their habitat by the Soufriere Hills volcano.

Durrell, ZSL, the Montserrat government and others mobilized a massive effort to collect as many chooks as they could on Montserrat and these animals have been sent to biosecure facilities (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30685047/) where they have been treated with Itraconazole and are being monitored regularly for signs of disease. The group at London Zoo appears to have responded well to treatment and males are active and, according to Ian Stephen, relatively unafraid of the activities of the staff. Hopes are that the species will be bred successfully at multiple institutions. Unfortunately, this does not address the presence of Bd on both islands that the species is native to.

SAVE THE FROGS DAY - April 28th 2009

To raise awareness of the plight of amphibians, the scientific community has declared April 28th, 2009, the 1st Annual 'Save the Frogs Day'.

The aim of this day is to spread the word about the plight of amphibians. The goal of Save the Frogs Day is to make the amphibian extinction crisis common knowledge by 2010: Help make it happen!

All information about Save the Frogs, and April the 28th, can be found here at the SAVE THE FROGS website.

Frogs: The Thin Green Line

You can see 'FROGS: The Thin Green Line' on PBS at 8pm EST. The makers of this film have done a great job of mapping Bd presence across space and time-series based on data produced by the Global Bd-Mapping Project.

New European Network on Chytridiomycosis Funded

The funding organisation BiodiverERsA has funded a new EU Network to investigate the emergence of Bd in Europe. RACE (Risk Assessment of Chytridiomycosis to European Amphibians) has been awarded 2,258,000 € to implement the first pan-European attempt to mitigate disease. The project aims to (i) identify the natural and anthropogenic drivers of chytridiomycosis in Europe (ii) improve national and pan-European competence in surveillance and diagnosis and to determine the geographic scope of the problem by developing laboratory diagnostic facilities and a state-of-the-art surveillance framework (iii) acquire field-data on the prevalence, intensity and timing of infection/mortalities and (iv) to develop spatial-genetic information and to integrate these into the global genotype dataset to identify the timing, and frequency, of Bd introduction(s) into Europe, as well as assessing the differential virulence of genotypes.

The data and scientific outputs produced by RACE will be used to develop a standardised EU-wide monitoring scheme by disseminating information to national and international stakeholders and by building collaborations in under-surveyed countries; these approaches will be formalised into a European Threat Abatement Plan (ETAP). The kick-off meeting for RACE is in Moulis, the French Pyrenees, in March 2009.

RACE is composed of a core group of laboratories in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. However, a core goal of RACE is to capacity build outside of these core-countries and research groups. Interest in RACE, and participation, are warmly welcomed; contact Matthew Fisher (matthew.fisher@imperial.ac.uk) and Trent Garner (trent.garner@ioz.ac.uk) for further information.

Sir David Attenborough Tells London Zoo Audience That European Amphibians Are In Trouble

Sir David Attenborough, Patron of AArk, hosted an evening on 'Amphibians in a climate of change' as an awareness-raiser about the plight of amphibians. Jonathan Baillie, Trent Garner and Helen Meredith gave talks on the current and future challenges facing amphibians. Factors including climate change, habitat destruction and disease that could wipe out more than half of Europe’s amphibians by 2050, according to Trent Garner from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Helen Meredith, amphibians co-ordinator for ZSL's Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) programme, warned: "There is no time to waste if we are to prevent further species loss. "We need to reduce carbon emissions, but also address other pressing factors including habitat destruction and spread of diseases."

Captive Breeding Introduced Bd To Mallorcan Midwife Toads

The Mallorcan midwife toad, Alytes muletensis, is one of the worlds most highly endangered amphibian species. Presumed extinct until 1978, the species was 're-discovered' hiding in the arid Sierra de Tramuntana mountains in the north of the Island; the species has subsequently been the focus of a highly successful captive-breeding and reintroduction program. However, mortalities and subsequent detection of high-prevalence infection by Bd clustered into two adjacent breeding-sites rang alarm-bells. Subsequent investigations, reported by Walker et al in Current Biology showed that introduced Alytes were infected by Bd as early as 1989, and had likely picked up the infection in captivity. The paper reports the first use of sequence-typing to demonstrate that island genotypes of Bd are identical, and unrelated to others found in Europe, strengthening the hypothesis that a single introduction of Bd had occurred. The paper reinforces the need for stringent biosecurity methods to prevent cross-transmission of known and unknown pathogens in captivity. As Kevin Zippel of AArk states "It's a much-needed wake-up call. We must do everything in our power to assess and minimize the risks."