amphibian ark Keeping threatened amphibian species afloat

Amphibian Ark Patron, Sir David Attenborough, recently endorsed AArk’s amphibian photo competition. Here’s what he has to say:

Frogs, toads and other amphibians are among the most beautiful creatures on the planet. They are instantly recognisable to most people, and to many, they hold a deep fascination. They occupy a wide range of land and water… (Read more)

In the nineteen eighties, the Tanzanian government started eyeing a remote area of the Eastern Arcs, known as the Udzungwas, for a hydropower project. Unfortunately, this area includes the only known habitat of the Kihansi Spray Toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis) – five acres of wetlands where the spray and wind generated by falls… (Read more)

The University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, and the city of Vancouver will host the 7th World Congress of Herpetology (WCH) in beautiful British Columbia from 8-14 August 2012. Vancouver has a magnificent setting on the Pacific Ocean, is a world-class conference city and offers a wealth of scientific resources and entertainment. More… (Read more)

By Maura O’Connor — Special to GlobalPost
Published: August 20, 2010 06:27 ET in Africa

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania and NEW YORK — When it came to a choice between a hydropower dam that would provide electricity to one-third of Tanzania and a tiny endangered toad, the dam won.

But the Kihansi toad lives… (Read more)

A. MARTEL, P. VAN ROOIJ, G. VERCAUTEREN, K. BAERT, L. VAN WAEYENBERGHE, P. DEBACKER, T. W. J. GARNER, T. WOELTJES, R. DUCATELLE, F. HAESEBROUCK & F. PASMANS

Abstract
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is one of the most pathogenic microorganisms affecting amphibians in both captivity and in nature. The establishment of B. dendrobatidis free, stable, amphibian captive… (Read more)

Joseph R. Milanovich, William E. Peterman, Nathan P. Nibbelink, John C. Maerz

Abstract

Background
Significant shifts in climate are considered a threat to plants and animals with significant physiological limitations and limited dispersal abilities. The southern Appalachian Mountains are a global hotspot for plethodontid salamander diversity. Plethodontids are lungless ectotherms, so their ecology is strongly governed… (Read more)

Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com

The New Zealand government has caved to public pressure, announcing that it is dropping all plans to mine in protected areas. The plan to open 7,000 hectares of protected areas to mining would have threatened a number of rare and endemic species, including two frogs that are prehistoric relics virtually unchanged from amphibian… (Read more)

Andrew J. Crawford, Karen R. Lipsa, and Eldredge Bermingham

Abstract

Amphibian populations around the world are experiencing unprecedented declines attributed to a chytrid fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Despite the severity of the crisis, quantitative analyses of the effects of the epidemic on amphibian abundance and diversity have been unavailable as a result of the lack of equivalent… (Read more)

A parasite morphologically indistinguishable from Myxidium immersum (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) found in gallbladders of the invasive cane toad (Bufo marinus) was identified in Australian frogs. Because no written record exists for such a parasite in Australian endemic frogs in 19th and early 20th century, it was assumed that the cane toad introduced this parasite.

See http://7thspace.com/headlines/347320/museum_material_reveals_a_frog_parasite_emergence_after_the_invasion_of_the_cane_toad_in_australia.html for… (Read more)

Implementing a strategic plan for the conservation of Ecuadorian amphibians in Extinction risk.