Amphibians •

Newts and Salamanders victims of deadly Flesh Eating Epidemic

November 1, 2014 By Germaine Hicks 1 Comment

A deadly fungus is on the loose and eating away the skins of newts and salamanders just like the frog population not many years ago. This has become a serious problem because the fungus, called as Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans has already wiped out wild populations of fire salamanders in the Netherlands. Its mode of operandi is infecting and eating away the animal’s skin, which they use to breath, eventually killing them in the end.

A more closely related fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been previously found to be capable of infecting some 520 amphibian species and also has sent some species of frogs and salamanders into extinction.

A dozen or more European and North American salamander and newt species have been found to be quite prone to the earlier fungus i.e. Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. Scientists have tested more than 5000 amphibians from four continents, publishing their results today in the journal Science.

Karen Lips, one of the leading experts involved in the study, warned that the fungus would soon reach America. “If scientists and policy makers can work together on this, we have a rare opportunity to stop an epidemic from spreading around the globe with potentially deadly effect,” she said.

Along with her colleague Dr. Lips has already screened more 1,400 frogs, salamanders and newts from various ponds around North and South America. Although they haven’t found the fungus but they are of the view that it is not about if, rather when the fungus does reaches the Americas.

It is particularly concerning because Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans can be carried by Chinese fire belly newt and about 2.3 million of them were imported into the U.S., between 2001 and 2009, alone to be sold as pets.

It is important to note that the salamander population of the U.S. is the most diverse in the world, with many species already on the endangered list. The most potential effect of the decline in salamander population is the rapid climate change because they prey on animals that release more carbon into the atmosphere.

Study Reveals; Skin Eating Fungus can Annihilate Salamander

November 1, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Researchers found out a fungus while examining the massive decline in Netherland’s fire salamanders.

The fungus which basically belongs to East Asia traveled all the way to Europe. The researchers suggest that Bs reached Europe with the help of imported amphibians. It is originally from the family of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) .It was the chief reason behind the extinction of amphibians such as frogs, salamanders and toads. The fungus has nearly removed 40 percent of the amphibians in some particular areas.

An Martel, a researcher of Ghent University along with his colleagues analyzed around 5,000 species of amphibians. They accumulated these species from four different continents. The chief purpose of this study is to discover the danger Bs infection create for amphibians.

The study revealed that Bs infection is extremely deadly for salamanders. They have killed a large amount of salamanders in the past several years. However, it is not that hazardous for other amphibians like frog, caecilians and toads. They are commonly found in the Eastern North America and Pacific Northwest.

An Martel, the lead author informed that majority of the species which interact with Bs die in a short time period of two weeks. The mortality rate in salamanders increase up to 99 percent soon after this infection.

Unfortunately, the experts have failed to form any obstacle in order to stop the growth of this fungus in Europe.

The report is published in October 31^st edition of Journal Science.

WWF Report Shows How The Last 40 Years Affected The Population Of Wildlife: Report

September 30, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

According to the recent reports of WWF (World Wide Fund), the population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles chop down by 52% within 1970 to 2010, which believes to be far faster than ever thought.

On the other hand, the report of conservation group’s Living Planet, published every 2 years, stated that, the demands of human kinds are increased by 50%, which seems more than that the nature bears, trees felled, ground water pumped, CO2 emissions increased more than the Earth can bear (Reuters).

Ken Norris (Director of Science at the Zoological Society of London) stated, “This huge damage is not foreseeable, though the outcome of the way we choose to live.”

Moreover, the report stated that we can still cope with this situation if politicians and businesses took the right actions to save nature.

International Director of WWF, General Marco Lambertini stated, “It’s quite vital that we grab the opportunity in order to develop a sustainable future where people could live and prosper in harmony with nature.”

He further stated that we can’t preserve the nature by only protecting wild places, though it’s also about conservation of the humanity’s future, indeed, our only way to survive.

The major declines were in tropical regions, especially Latin America, report results on the populations of vertebrate wildlife discovered. WWF, which believes to be a “Living Planet Index”, is relying on the trends in 10,380 populations of 3,038 mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian and fish species.

WWF told, the average 52% decline is much larger than the previously published reports, partially because these studies has based on more readily accessible information from Europe & North-America. According to the same report published 2 years back, stated the decline of 28% within 1970 to 2008.

Certainly, the worst decline was believed to be amongst the population of fresh water species, which is declined to 76% till 2010. On the other hand, marine and terrestrial decline is by 39%.

The report stated that, the major reason for the decline in populations happened due to the loss of natural habitats, exploitation due to hunting and fishing and most importantly due to climate change.

In order to measure the variation between the statistics of different countries experimental impact, the report gauged that how large an ‘ecological footprint’ each one had and how much productive land and water area, or “bio-capacity”, each country accounted for.

Furthermore the report revealed that Kuwaitis followed by Qatar and UAE had seems to be the largest ecological footprint so far, as they are consuming and wasting more resources as compared to any other nation.

The report stated, “ If everyone on this planet have the same footprint as of Kuwait & Qatar resident, then we probably need 4.8 planets and if we lived similar to an USA resident, then we need 3.9 planets.”

Some poorer countries such as India, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also had ecological footprint that seems fine with the planet’s ability to absorb their demands.

New Poisonous Dart Frog Species Discovered in Panama

September 29, 2014 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Recently, a frog living in the headwaters of Rio Cano in Panama grabbed the attention of the researchers when they observed its unique characteristics. The sample was demonstrated by the researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Universidad Autonoma de Chiriqui, Panama and Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.

“We already knew that these frogs were present in Rio Cano for several years, though, we were not sure enough that it was the only variety of poison dart frog species named as Oophaga pumilio. This specie show marvelous color variation. On the basis of morphological characteristics of Oophaga pumilio, I think of them as a new species of Andinobates,” Smithsonian herpetologist Cesar Jaramillo stated.

It happened just after Professor Andrew Crawford at the Universidad de Los Andes, who examined the DNA of orange color Oophaga pumilio and confirmed that it’s a new species of poisonous dart frog know as Andinobates. More detailed information regarding the poisonous frogs genetics are available at the Barcode of Life Data System and in GenBank.

Regrettably, after the revelation of this frog species, there seems a major threat to their existence because of habitat loss and gathering of frog species for pet trade. In this scenario, the researchers recommended to formulate particular conservation plans in order to save the specie.

Recent news release revealed that, “Researchers have included geminisae in its confined breeding plan of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation project. A group of 6 zoos along with research institutions are especially devoted for saving of Amphibians from the chytrid fungal disease that is devastating amphibians all over the globe.”

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