SCIENCE: Colombian frog believed extinct found alive
EcoPolis
Colombian frog believed extinct found alive
===============================================
Discovery shows some species can survive fungus decimating amphibians
Researchers exploring a Colombian mountain range found surviving
members of a species of Harlequin frog believed extinct due to a killer
fungus wiping out amphibian populations in Central and South America.
The discovery of what could be the last population of the painted frog
(Atelopus ebenoides marinkellei) indicates the species has survived the
fungus, providing hope that other species also might avoid elimination
from the epidemic caused by a pathogenic fungus of unknown origin.
Professor Carlos Rocha and a team of researchers from the Pedagogical
and Technological University of Boyacá - UTPC supported by
Conservation International, the Darwin Initiative and the Fund for
Environmental Action and Childhood made the discovery in early May in
the deserts of Sarna and Toquilla in Boyacá in eastern Colombia.
The painted frog, which is found only in the deserts of Colombia's
highlands, was last seen in 1995 in the area of Siscunsi, in the same
region as Boyacá. After 11 years without a sighting, scientists
considered the species extinct because of a lethal skin fungus, known
as chytridiomycosis, and other hazards threatening the survival of a
third of all amphibian species around the world.
"The scientific importance of the finding must motivate us to adopt
urgent measures toward saving the last of these amphibians, both in the
wild and through captive breeding programs," said Fabio Arjona,
executive director of Conservation International in Colombia. "That
will require a lot of support from the local and international
communities."
The painted frog is one of 110 species of a diverse group of
neo-tropical amphibians that live mostly in Colombia. The country's
amphibian population is considered among the most diverse on Earth and
key in the conservation efforts to protect amphibian species worldwide.
So far, 42 of the 113 species of Atelopus found in the Tropical Andes
Hotspot that includes parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela
have experienced population declines of up to 50 percent.
Frogs provide innumerable ecosystem services by consuming insects and
serving as indicators of overall environmental health of an ecosystem.
The disappearance of amphibians could cause numerous consequences,
including an increase in illnesses such as malaria due to the
disappearance of amphibians that feed on mosquitoes carrying the
disease. An extinction crisis among amphibians indicates drastic
environmental changes caused by human impact such as deforestation and
global warming.
(Source: Conservation International)