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October 2023
We’re back! After an almost two-year hiatus, we are bringing back the AmphibiaWeb Newsletter with this fall edition to showcase highlights from 2022 including new species, new accounts, contributed photos, news boxes from the year, and more. We are featuring some of our favorite species accounts from 2022, which was a stellar year for written accounts. Other notable changes in 2022 include a revamped home page that is not only aesthetically beautiful, but also mobile-friendly, easier to navigate, and features the most popular query and summary pages with large buttons. Best of all, users can search directly for species pages in the search box in the top right corner.
This newsletter marks the inaugural edition guest-edited by UC Berkeley AmphibiaWeb apprentices and features the work of Hong Nguyen, Madeline Ahn, Nessa Kmetec, and Ariel Lee. These terrific students compiled their favorite photos, news highlights, and accounts. In addition to their efforts writing individual species accounts, creating the newsletter provided an opportunity to review, select, and compile the larger body of changes to amphibian research and conservation. Read more about these amazing apprentices below in their profiles.
Our aim is to re-establish regular newsletters to keep you updated on ongoing changes and improvements to AmphibiaWeb content. Look out for our next newsletter in the spring!
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Species Accounts
What's better than new amphibian species? Details about all these species!
We aim to have a web page for every amphibian species. We regularly update content, including adding new species account pages. You can track all our updates by checking our What's New Log.
In 2022, we published 144 new species accounts from 262 authors across 17 courses or institutions. Those contributors include: |
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Photo © 2019 Mark D. Scherz and Andolalao Rakotoarison
Mini mum, written by former URAP (2021-2022), Jessica Pan, along with all the other Mini species.
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Photo © 2016 Eduardo Boza Oviedo
Bolitoglossa nympha, written by 2022 University of California Davis Herpetology course (taught by Dr. Brian Todd) students, Olyvia Brindley-Valentin, Courtney Bylsma, and Lily Cappel.
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Photo © 2021 Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga
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Photo © 2014 Brian Freiermuth
Trichobatrachus robustus, originally written by Dr. David Blackburn (currently Associate Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles at Florida Museum of Natural History) when he was a graduate student at Harvard in 2002 and updated by David and his post-doc, Dr. Kaitlin E. Allen, and post-bac, Magali Zoungrana, in 2022.
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In 2023, to date, we have 84 species accounts by 63 authors from 16 courses or institutions.
Among those contributions are 6 accounts from our first Species Account Live Training for AmphibiaWeb (SALTA) workshop. This workshop was designed to engage herpetology experts to help us achieve our goal of having a well researched and up to date webpage for every amphibian species of the world.
If you'd like to contribute to or update a species account, let us know!
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2022 News In Review
Every week on our homepage, we highlight recent, impactful amphibian research. You can see all our news highlights in our news archives. But below are our 2022-23 student cohort's favorites from 2022:
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Xenopus laevis © William Leonard
"I’m very interested to see if they’ve done any more research with this. It seems out of this world, and I’ve never heard of animal-plant symbiosis on this level before." - Nessa Kmetec
January 17, 2022: Oxygen is necessary for life in most non-photosynthetic organisms and without it, irreversible brain damage and death may be the consequence. However, these effects can be mitigated with hyperbaric oxygen medical therapy. Özugur et al. (2021) explored another potential therapy using microalgae. In their experiments, transcardially injected green algae or cyanobacteria into Xenopus laevis tadpoles traveled to the brain where they produced oxygen when exposed to light. This production was sufficient enough that when the tadpoles were placed in hypoxic conditions, the microalgae produced enough oxygen to rescue brain activity. While these results have a long way to go before they can be used in human medical procedures, there are many applications they can now be used in to enhance studies, such as improving oxygen levels in cell or tissue cultures, increasing control in graded oxygen experiments, and experimentation with bilateral imbalances of oxygen on neural and motor function. (Written by Ann Chang)
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Aplastodiscus leucopygius © Anat Belasen
"This news box stood out to me mostly due to its discussion about the environmental threats towards various frog populations, such as habitat fragmentation and disease susceptibility." - Ariel Lee
May 9, 2022: Habitat fragmentation and infectious diseases are two of the biggest global threats to amphibians, but how do these two threats interact? Besides leading to stress and local extirpations in vulnerable wildlife populations, habitat fragmentation can reduce genetic diversity, which in turn may increase susceptibility to disease. Belasen et al. (2022) evaluated relationships between habitat fragmentation, genetic diversity, and disease susceptibility in six frog species endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, an amphibian diversity hotspot. They specifically tested whether habitat fragmentation reduces diversity in a genetic region related to immune function (MHC IIB), which is associated with amphibian susceptibility to the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). They found that habitat fragmentation was associated with genetic erosion at MHC IIB across species, and individuals that were MHC IIB heterozygotes (“hybrids”) experienced reduced Bd infection risk. The most severe genetic erosion at MHC IIB occurred in forest specialist frogs including Aplastodiscus leucopygius. Forest specialist frogs also exhibited increased Bd infections (higher prevalence and loads) in fragmented habitats. Overall their results showed that habitat fragmentation impacts MHC IIB diversity and potential disease susceptibility in frogs, with the greatest impacts in sensitive forest specialists. (Written by Anat M. Belasen)
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Brachycephalus pernix gif by Richard L. Essner Jr. et al. 2022
"I didn't know frogs could be bad at jumping!" - Madeline Ahn
July 25, 2022: Frogs are famous for being accomplished leapers. In addition to their take-off, nearly all frogs control their trajectory through the air and the eventual landing. However, Essner et al. (2022) found that this is not true for the tiniest of frogs where size limitations have performance consequences. They demonstrate the small pumpkin toadlets (genus Brachycephalus) from Brazil do not control their posture after take-off, resulting in sometimes wildly uncontrolled landings. The authors hypothesize that the extremely tiny semicircular canals— the smallest yet recorded for an adult vertebrate— result in low sensitivity making it difficult for the frogs to sense their position as they move through the air. (Written by David Blackburn)
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Hyla orientalis © Barbod Safaei Mahroo
"I feel like not a lot of people think about how Chernobyl affected other non-human species. And it’s just interesting seeing how little frogs potentially adapted to the radiation since this seems like such a niche event to be able to research" - Hong Nguyen
October 10, 2022: In 1986, the Chernobyl (also spelled 'Chornobyl') nuclear accident in northern Ukraine released unprecedented amounts of radioactive material into the environment. Within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Burrac and Orizaola (2022) surveyed the Eastern Tree Frog (Hyla orientalis) and found increased melanism compared with frogs just outside the Exclusion Zone. It is known that the dark melanin-based pigments could protect fungi against ionizing radiation but a protective role in melanism for vertebrates remains debated because of potentially high physiological costs associated with melanism. Burrac and Orizaola found no physiological costs associated with the maintenance of dark skin coloration in terms of frog body condition or oxidative status. Furthermore no short-term changes in coloration were detected, indicating that high levels of ionizing radiation, likely at the time of the accident, may have been selected for darker coloration in Chernobyl tree frogs. (Written by Molly Womack)
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Photo Picks
New photographs are constantly added by our contributors, who provide stunning and informative images of amphibians and their habitats from around the world. Check out the latest amphibian images uploaded to our site here.
Below are our students' picks of their favorite photos from 2022: |
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Hong picked this photo of Taricha sierrae in a defensive unken reflex.
Photo © 2022 William Flaxington
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Nessa chose this sleepy Hyla arborea.
Photo © 2022 Sebastian Hofman
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Madeline was charmed by these Phyllodytes luteolus sharing a bromeliad.
Photo © 2022 Mauro Teixeira Jr
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We'd like to take a moment to thank all our 2022 contributors:
Adam G. Clause, Aidan McCarthy, Alessandro Catenazzi, Alexander Murray, Amadeus Plewnia, Anat Belasen, Andreas and Christel Nöllert, Ángel Sosa-Bartuano, Arturo Muñoz, Benjamin Tapley, Bryce Wade, Christian Cox, Daniel Kane, Danny J. Ordoñez, Dave Mangham, David C. Broek, Devin Edmonds, Eric Vanderduys, Erick Barria, Gerald and Buff Corsi (via California Academy of Sciences), Gonçalo M. Rosa, Henry Miller Alexandre, Jake M Hutton, Dr. Joachim Nerz, Jörn Köhler, Katherine Mullin, Kevin G. Hutcheson, Kyla Garten, Luis A. García Ayachi, Marcelo O. Arasaki, Marcos Ponce, Maria Delia Basanta, Mauro Teixeira Jr, Michal Berec, Nathan Vaughan, Nikhil More, Omar Gabriel Miranda Bayron, Pablo Palacios-Rodríguez, Dr. Peter Janzen, Porrawee Pomchote, Rebecca M. Brunner, Samuel Aréchaga, Sandra Goutte, Sean Michael Rovito, Sebastian Hofman, Simon J. Tonge, Stefano Doglio, Tiffany Kosch, Thanh Luan Nguyen, Thy Neang, Vladimir Díaz, William Flaxington, W. Juergen Schrenk, and Zachary Lange.
And also thanks to those who've contributed so far in 2023:
Aidan McCarthy, Akewake Geremew, Alexander Murray, Axel Hernandez, Benjamin Monod-Broca, Bikramjit Sinha, Bryce Wade, Daniel Kane, Dave Mangham, David C. Broek, Diego A. Calvo, Duvan F. Zambrano, Eric Vanderduys, Gabriel Costa, John J. Wiens, Jörn Köhler, Juan G. Abarca, Kevin G. Hutcheson, Luis A. Copete Mosquera, Maria Delia Basanta, Mauro Teixeira Jr, Max Laubstein, Max Seldes, Morgan Page, Nathan Vaughan, Rafael Peralta-Hernández, Saulo Cortes, Sebastian Hofman, Sergio Luis del Castillo Domínguez, Simon J. Tonge, Sinlan Poo, Stefano Doglio, Thomas J. Devitt, Tiffany Kosch, W. Juergen Schrenk, Walter Smith, William Flaxington, Wouter Beukema, Vladimir Díaz.
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2022 - 2023 AmphibiaWeb URAPs spelling out their AWEB pride with their hands (from left to right): Ariel Lee, Hong Nguyen, Nessa Kmetec, and Madeline Ahn
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Spotlight: 2022-24 URAP Highlights
We were pleased to have had four great AmphibiaWeb Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program students (URAPs) in the 2022-2023 academic year. Two of those students returned for the 2023 - 2024 academic year (marked by an *) and were joined by the wonderful Sophie dela Cruz.
AWeb URAPs:
Madeline Ahn*, Class of '25, Genetics and Plant Biology: I joined AWeb just because I like frogs (and now I like salamanders and caecilians too). A weekly highlight is when I accidentally end up down an AWeb rabbit hole!"
Nessa Kmetec*, Class of '25, Genetics and Plant Biology: I joined Amphibiaweb so I could learn more about all sorts of amphibians, and there are a lot! The experience of being able to see the specimens in the museum that I had been writing about and in one case actually holding a live California tiger salamander during one of the lunch seminars has been incredible.
Hong Nguyen, Class of '25, Psychology: I joined AmphibiaWeb to get some firsthand experience of with analyzing scientific research papers for a wonderful cause: the taxonomy and conservation of amphibian species. AmphibiaWeb introduced me to a wonderful community at Berkeley, and importantly, to the beautiful world of caecilians, and I am immensely grateful to have been a part of the team.
Ariel Lee, Class of '26, Integrative Biology: I first learned about AmphibiaWeb at an MVZ pizza party [in December 2022] and I was intrigued by the opportunities it provides for students interested in amphibians and animals in general. I dove right into the translation for my first species, Karsenia koreana, and worked on more accounts of fun amphibians :) My experience with AmphibiaWeb was amazing and I look forward to learning more about the other fascinating amphibians around the world!
Sophie dela Cruz, Class of '25, Integrative Biology: I joined AmphibiaWeb because I love anurans, and I wanted to contribute to the world's knowledge about them and other amphibians. Lately, I have been writing about Breviceps, which is my favorite frog genus! I'm excited to learn more about their behaviors and morphology.
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Spotlight: Where are they now?
Vicky (Mingna) Zhuang
 Vicki (second from left) at Cal Day 2012 with (from left to right) MIchelle Hershey, David B. Wake, Carol Spencer, and Michelle Koo
AmphibiaWeb has had many talented people work with us over our 33 years. Dr. Vicky M. Zhuang, currently the collections manager at University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP), is one of those people. Vicky worked with AmphibiaWeb during the Spring and Summer terms in 2012, shortly after she graduated from Berkeley’s Integrative Biology undergraduate program, as AmphibiaWeb’s Research Coordinator.
While an undergraduate at Berkeley, Vicky was extremely active in Integrative Biology and specifically with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), where AmphibiaWeb is housed. She started as a sophomore, working with AmphibiaWeb Senior Associate and herpetology staff curator, Carol Spencer. Although Vicky was always interested in zoology, working with Carol helped Vicky fall in love with herpetofauna. Vicky also spent a semester working in the MVZ’s preparatory lab, learning how to skeletonize specimens for the museum with then Lab Preparator, Monica Albe. As a trusted member of the Museum, Vicky assisted with fundraising tours of the MVZ and was integral to the MVZ’s Cal Day preparations for four years! Vicky capped off her undergraduate experience with a senior thesis on gliding in Anoles under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Dudley and AmphibiaWeb’s current director, Dr. Jim McGuire. After leaving Berkeley, Vicky earned a doctorate degree at the University of California, Riverside studying the evolution and biomechanics of gecko locomotion. Shortly after obtaining her Ph.D., Vicky became the Collections Manager at the UTEP Biodiversity Collections, where she oversees over 600,000 specimens.
Asked how AmphibiaWeb affected her career, Vicky said, “AmphibiaWeb directly helped my dissertation” by providing a format from which to organize habitat and ecological data for her gecko studies. During her short time at AmphibiaWeb, Vicky set up weekly meetings with URAPs where she introduced them to a different amphibian specimen each week. Vicky is noted for her organizational skills and her novel use of QRCode in an interactive California amphibian map for Cal Day 2012.
Nowadays, Vicky only gets the occasional chance to use AmphibiaWeb as her current grant is focused on developing museum specimen-based general education modules and renovating the UTEP Biodiversity Collection with high-density shelving. But she says, “everyone who cares about/studies amphibians knows about AmphibiaWeb.”
Vicky in the UTEP Herpetological Collections
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Acknowledgements
AmphibiaWeb is possible because of our huge community support. We thank our many contributors including students, photographers, media contributors, and our diverse partners.
We love to hear from you; tell us what you love, what is lacking, or how we can help.
Before you go...
Check out our Zazzle shop for Holiday gifts of AmphibiaWeb clothing and gear! Proceeds from sales help support our mission. Or, if possible, please consider supporting us directly by donating.
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