Zoo Workers Try to Slow Spread of Deadly Killer Fungus
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dec 18, 4:27 PM EST
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Zoo Workers Try to Slow Spread of Deadly Killer Fungus*
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Milwaukee County Zoo workers are trying to help
scientists slow the spread of a fungus that has killed millions of frogs
and expunged species.
Chytrid has moved rapidly through the frog population in the Caribbean
and Central America, killing nearly every croaker who contracts it.
Scientists have been unable to stop the spread of disease even as
amphibians' deaths tip ecosystems out of balance.
At the Milwaukee County Zoo, three workers are collecting, disinfecting
and housing a few frogs who have survived. They hope that the frogs will
someday be able to repopulate decimated areas.
Meanwhile, scientists are racing to answer basic questions about the
fungus, including where it came from and how it spreads.
"It's kind of like what AIDS was in the 1980s," said Craig Berg, the
zoo's reptile and aquarium curator, referring to the urgency of the
research effort.
The disease has eliminated 120 frog species so far. It suffocates frogs
by thickening their skin so that oxygen can't flow in and carbon dioxide
can't escape.
"When we find frogs who are about to die, they are standing on the very
tips of their toes, straining to expose as much skin as possible" to
breathe, Berg said.
Scientists suspect the fungus came from Africa, in part because they
have a preserved South African clawed toad killed by it in 1938. That's
the earliest evidence of the disease, they said.
By 2005, the fungus had killed frogs in the upper altitude forests of
Mexico and Costa Rica and been spotted in Panama.
Panamanian researchers anticipated its arrival and began building a
conservation center where frogs could be kept and bred to later
repopulate affected areas.
But the disease spread faster than anticipated, and frog experts and
volunteers had to scramble to save the few frogs they could, sending
them to temporary safeholds until the center is finished next year.
"This really is a stopgap measure or an emergency response measure,"
said Peter Rieger, a curator at the Houston Zoo. "We are getting them
out of harm's way."
Berg and two other workers at the Milwaukee zoo have focused on saving
the Grenada frog. They've collected eight, and a female in their care
laid eggs this year. They didn't hatch, but it was still a milestone -
the first time a Grenada frog produced eggs in captivity.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com