Sunday, December 20, 2009

2008 Year of the Frog -- State of the Frogs

Report Shows Successes, Highlights Need for Conservation Efforts to Continue

Silver Spring, MD (Vocus/PRWEB ) October 21, 2008 -- The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) today appear a address on advance fabricated to date on amphibian attention as zoos and aquariums took up the claiming during 2008, the Year of the Frog.

AZA

AZA is appreciative of the accelerated and cogent acknowledgment of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to save frogs, toads, and salamanders There is abundant added plan to be done, and it will crop abounding years, but these success belief adjure to the key role that zoos and aquariums play in amphibian conservation. "AZA is appreciative of the accelerated and cogent acknowledgment of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to save frogs, toads, and salamanders," said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. "There is abundant added plan to be done, and it will crop abounding years, but these success belief adjure to the key role that zoos and aquariums play in amphibian conservation."

Zoos, aquariums, and abounding all-embracing ally declared 2008 the Year of the Frog to accompany acquaintance to the plight of the world's amphibians, and to barrage an burning accomplishment to save them. One-third of all amphibians are in crisis of extinction, in allotment because of a baleful bane overextension rapidly about the apple http://www.amphibianark.org/chytrid.htm.

Since the campaign's barrage on Leap Day, February 29, 2008, AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and added organizations accept abutting calm to accouterment this attention claiming head-on. Highlights from the State of the Frogs address include:

1.   Mississippi Gopher Frog - Tadpoles (Memphis Zoo)
In February, the Memphis Zoo (Tenn.) acclimated in vitro fertilization to brand the alarmingly endangered Mississippi bagman frog, acceptable the aboriginal ability anytime to do so.

2.   Endangered Puerto Rican Crested Toad Population Grows (Forth Worth Zoo, Toronto Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, Detroit Zoo)

Only two years into a abiding absolution program, advisers from the Dallas Zoo (TX) and Fort Worth Zoo (TX) begin developed Puerto Rican crested toads in the agrarian in arctic Puerto Rico. These toads originated as tadpoles hatched at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums that were appear in 2006. This April, the Toronto Zoo (Ontario, Canada) beatific an added 2,600 tadpoles to the island to supplement the population.

In accession to the successes with the arctic toad population, Sedgwick County Zoo (KS) and Detroit Zoo (MI) beatific 2,600 Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to southern Puerto Rico for absolution in May.

3.   Denver Zoo Builds Lab in Peru

The Denver Zoo (CO) is alive with the Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru to save the alarmingly endangered Lake Titicaca frog, begin on the apprenticed of Bolivia and Peru. The Denver Zoo agents is allowance the University set up a captivation and ancestry ability for the frogs to abutment conservation, ecological, and husbandry-related research. The Denver Zoo is aswell alive with two bounded Lima zoos to authorize frog displays that will brainwash visitors about the plight of this behemothic frog.

4.   New Headstarting Programs for the Oregon Spotted Frog (Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Oregon Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium)

Listed as an endangered breed in Washington State, the Oregon spotted frog is accepting a adventitious to balance its citizenry through a attention ancestry and reintroduction affairs activity spearheaded by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

In aboriginal bounce of 2008, WDFW biologists and volunteers calm frog egg masses from Oregon spotted frog populations in Washington and several hundred tadpoles accept emerged and are accepting aloft at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (WA) and at Oregon Zoo (OR). The adolescent frogs were appear this abatement at Fort Lewis and agnate efforts will abide for the next 5 years, with the ambition of auspiciously establishing a new, independent citizenry of Oregon spotted frogs in Washington. Additional abutment for this activity is accepting provided by Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium (WA).

5.   Amphibian Course Brings Kihansi Spray Toads One Step Closer to Tanzania (Bronx Zoo, Toledo Zoo)

In April 2008, the Bronx Zoo (NY) and the Toledo Zoo (OH) took the aboriginal footfall appear sending the alarmingly endangered Kihansi aerosol toad aback to its built-in Tanzania by bringing two herpetologists from the University of Dar es Salaam to the United States to apprentice how to advance and brand the toads. The toad is anticipation to be abolished in the wild, afterwards architecture of a hydroelectric dam, abode destruction, pesticides, and, likely, the adverse amphibian bane Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) led to the toad's citizenry collapse. The alone accepted actual toads abide at the Bronx and Toledo Zoos, but affairs are in abode to forward some toads to Tanzania aural a year.

6.   Large-crested Toad Has Been Found (Africam Safari)
The large-crested toad, ancient to Mexico and threatened by baptize pollution, deforestation, and the development of coffee and bake-apple plantations, was believed to be abolished until rediscovered in 1998 in the Sierra Norte de Puebla. No contempo searches had been conducted for this breed until February 2008 if Africam Safari (Puebla, Mexico) put calm a seek accumulation and begin tadpoles and metamorphs appropriate area they were in 1998. In May 2008, Africam Safari and the Autonomous University of Puebla active an acceding to admit analysis focused on acquirements added about the species' biology, about density, spatial distribution, and abode characteristics.
7.   Ozark and Eastern Hellbenders Both Experience "First-Evers" (Saint Louis Zoo, Oglebay's Good Zoo)
Ozark Hellbender Successes (Saint Louis Zoo)
Building on the Saint Louis Zoo's (MO) success with the first-ever egg-laying accident by a hellbender beneath apish accustomed altitude in October 2007, the zoo continues caring for nine developed Ozark hellbenders and brought in 53 hellbender larvae from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)-Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery that had been calm as eggs by MDC and Saint Louis Zoo staff, and will be reintroduced to the agrarian in the future. The Saint Louis Zoo aswell afresh provided 19 captive-reared Ozark hellbenders to the MDC and Missouri State University to conduct radio tracking studies on these individuals in the wild.

Eastern Hellbender Successes (Oglebay's Good Zoo)
In September 2007, afterwards several years of surveys and ache studies in the wild, Oglebay's Good Zoo (WVA) agents hatched out about 150 hellbender eggs that were harvested from an abandoned backup in a West Virginia stream, acceptable the aboriginal zoo in the apple to bear eggs from this breed in a zoo setting. Several zoos, including the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (OH), the Fort Worth Zoo (TX), and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (NE), are currently acceptable with the development of husbandry techniques for the appearance of these larvae, of which 90% will be alternate through reintroduction efforts to streams in West Virginia.

8.   Amphibian Rescue and Conservation in Panama (Houston Zoo, Zoo New England)

The Houston Zoo (TX) continues to alike amphibian accomplishment efforts in Panama on account of dozens of accommodating AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums. The arch focus charcoal the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC), a research, holding, and apprenticeship ability that supports affirmation populations of 57 bounded amphibian species. Zoo New England (MA) and the Houston Zoo are teaming up to authorize a digital ability at Panama's Parque Natural Summit.

The amphibian bane Bd continues its adverse advance eastward. In an accomplishment to aegis some at-risk populations afore Bd alcove them, advisers calm amphibians in Bd-free areas in bounce 2008. Another bounce cruise was conducted as allotment of an accessible Discovery Channel documentary, The Vanishing Frogs, hosted by Jeff Corwin of Animal Planet. On these trips, added than a dozen newly-metamorphosed antic frogs were apparent alternating the streams of El Cope, a arena area the fungal catching had reportedly wiped out this species. The award gives biologists renewed achievement in the action to save crumbling amphibian populations.


9.   Year of the Frog Campaign Boosts Government-led Amphibian Conservation Programs (San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Fresno Chaffee Zoo)

The 2008 Year of the Frog attack has animated acquaintance about the abundance yellow-legged frog accretion program, resulted in new allotment opportunities, and generated abounding new volunteers to help, according to the U.S. Geological Survey http://www.werc.usgs.gov/index.html. Once accepted in southern California, abundance yellow-legged frogs are now believed to amount amid 150-200 individuals advance a allotment of eight areas in the San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and San Gabriel abundance ranges. Several factors accept contributed to the frog's decline, including non-native trout, aerial pollution, the Bd fungus, and abode abolition from fires and flooding.

After a blaze and during a aridity in 2006, several dozen tadpoles were rescued from a dehydration streambed basin and taken to San Diego Zoo's (CA) centermost for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES) area they metamorphed into 62 adolescent frogs that will be appear already abode altitude improve. This accomplishment is just one aspect of a collaborative accomplishment amid the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service, and acknowledging zoos and aquariums, including the San Diego Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, and Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

10.   The Eleutherodactylus Partnership Project (Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens)

Since accepting its aboriginal coqui, the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens (FL) has become a key amateur in developing husbandry techniques for several breed in this brand of tiny frogs. Zoo agents is alive with Dr. Rafael Joglar and his acceptance at the University of Puerto Rico to advance husbandry protocols for three alarmingly endangered coqui species, anniversary of which has been afflicted in the agrarian by the Bd fungus, as able-bodied as two added accepted breed that are active and ancestry at the Zoo.

The Zoo's anniversary Fiesta del Coqui was captivated September 27-28 and Dr. Joglar and several of his acceptance will appear to accession acquaintance about the adverse bane and added factors affecting amphibians worldwide.

The abounding State of the Frog Report is accessible at http://www.aza.org/newsroom/PR_sotf/.

To accord online to the AZA Amphibian Fund, amuse appointment https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=22230.

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a nonprofit 501c(3) alignment committed to the advance of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, education, science, and recreation. Look for the AZA logo whenever you appointment a zoo or aquarium as your affirmation that you are acknowledging an academy committed to accouterment accomplished affliction for animals, a abundant acquaintance for you, and a bigger approaching for all active things. With its added than 200 accepted members, the AZA is a baton in all-around wildlife conservation, and your hotlink to allowance animals in their built-in habitats. To appointment the amphibians at a abundant zoo or aquarium abreast you, amuse appointment www.aza.org.

Contact:
Courtney Jordan
AZA
301-562-0777 ext. 235
cjordan@aza.org

Steve Feldman
AZA
301-562-0777 ext. 252
sfeldman@aza.org

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