Panamanian Golden Frog Declared Extinct

atlfrog · #1 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009, 08:05 PM

The Panamanian golden frog declared extinct by BBC Natural History crew
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com February 4, 2008.

Old News probably, but might be New News to someone else.

I looked around and didn't see anyone post this, so if it is a double post I apologize. This is definitely an eye opener for those who don't know what's going on in regards to the decline of amphibian populations around the world.

The Panamanian golden frog declared extinct by BBC Natural History crew

frogparty · #2 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009, 08:26 PM

bummer. At least there is still a captive population in existence, but they will probably never re-enter the wild. Think about all the as of yet undescribed species we have yet to learn of that are facing the same plight... lost to the world forever. Maybe the panamanian gov. will allow some of the captive bred offspring to be distributed to other institutions now with the expressed purpose of showing folks what a technically extinct animal looks like. The sad thing is that chytrid has reached as far north as washington state and maybe beyond, and there seems to be no sign of a potential cure for it, besides treating every living amphibian with micatin. The consequences of losing amphibians from the world will be catastrophic. Such an important part of the food web to be lost, such a travesty.

zBrinks · #3 (**permalink**) 03-09-2009, 08:29 PM

Thank God that the Detroit Zoo, and other AZA institutions, have had such good luck breeding them.

Ed · #4 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frogparty

bummer. At least there is still a captive population in existence, but they will probably never re-enter the wild. Think about all the as of yet undescribed species we have yet to learn of that are facing the same plight... lost to the world forever. Maybe the panamanian gov. will allow some of the captive bred offspring to be distributed to other institutions now with the expressed purpose of showing folks what a technically extinct animal looks like. The sad thing is that chytrid has reached as far north as washington state and maybe beyond, and there seems to be no sign of a potential cure for it, besides treating every living amphibian with micatin. The consequences of losing amphibians from the world will be catastrophic. Such an important part of the food web to be lost, such a travesty.

Chytrid was at least that far north in the 1960s. See Historical Evidence of Widespread Chytrid Infection in North American Amphibian Populations
MARTIN OUELLET*††, IGOR MIKAELIAN†, BRUCE D. PAULI‡, JEAN RODRIGUE§, AND DAVID M. GREEN Conservation Biology Volume 19 Issue 5, Pages 1431 - 1440
I tried to link to the abstract but the link wouldn't work.

Ed

frogparty · #5 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 12:48 AM

So Ed, help me out here, chytrid problem was started by african frogs (xenopus?) used in hospitals for pregnancy tests escaping/being released from pet trade,right?

scream-aim-fire · #6 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 12:54 AM

i hate hearing about all the different frogs that are dieing left and right, and either becoming endangered or extinct.

Ed · #7 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frogparty

So Ed, help me out here, chytrid problem was started by african frogs (xenopus?) used in hospitals for pregnancy tests escaping/being released from pet trade,right?

The honest answer is that this is still conjecture and there is some discussion still occuring on it.. but you have to keep in mind that the introduction of the disease doesn't have to necessarily have to occur via escapes and introductions as waste water is a potential source of infection. There is some disussion and speculation that the disease maybe synergistically working with enviromental contaminents (pesticides and herbicides) to make the amphibians more susceptiable to the disease. (see Frogblog2: Origin and spread of the frog chytrid :Cornell Mushroom Blog for a good discussion with references.

As one potential example, dumping or running waste water into a garden or outside area..
or a lab flushing thier stuff into the sewage system and having a large rainstorm overload the system causing a discharge of untreated sewage into the waterways.

Ed

atlfrog · #8 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 01:25 AM

Ed, is right. One theory that has been said by:

Deadly fungus linked to old pregnancy tests is systematically killing the world's amphibians.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2008. 6 April 2008

Frogs on the Brink of Extinction :: Saint Louis Zoo

Great article, but probably many different causes for amphibians decline.

ecvogel · #9 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 02:24 AM

If you read the 2 comments, some people claim they are still alive in the wild.

atlfrog · #10 (**permalink**) 03-10-2009, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecvogel

If you read the 2 comments, some people claim they are still alive in the wild.

The article was from last year, so there could have been new discoveries or more updated information. I just thought people should be aware of this type of situation, as many people don't understand anything about conservation.