SaveDarwinsFrogs

More Media Coverage in Chile!

2011-06-08T14:52:49Z

We certainly appreciate this great newspaper article in Chile!

http://www.lun.com/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?dt=2011-06-08&PaginaId=6&bodyid=0

We are in the news again!

2011-06-07T20:58:34Z

We are thrilled to have had such a great article written about our recent success!

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/03/6780149-captive-male-frog-coughs-up-babies

The Frogs are Breeding Again

2011-06-07T15:12:24Z

For the last few months, it’s been that time of year again. The frogs in the lab have been breeding. So far, this year has been a good year for reproductive output by the colony. We wanted to provide a few images of what we have been seeing in the lab…enjoy!

This male Darwin's Frog in our facility remained with the developing clutch (his hand rests on the eggs) for most of their developmental period.

This male is brooding a clutch in his vocal sac. He was photographed through the front opening doors of his terrarium without having to disturb him.

The babies are very small when they are first "coughed up" by the male. This baby was recently spit out.

Some of the babies develop green coloration early off.

We never keep more than two babies in a container. We like to make sure that each baby gets enough to eat.

MUCH more to come…

Looking at the finished lab now…

2011-06-07T20:56:09Z

When we stand in front of the lab now, we all get a real feeling of accomplishment. The lab looks like what we all had in our minds. The lab is functioning just as we had hoped. The finishing touches on the lab have really helped to attract visitors to the zoo. The large sculpture of the Darwin’s Frog is finished and sitting next to the lab. The massive banner that we constructed hangs in front of the lab for visitors to read in Spanish or English. Most importantly, the frogs inside the lab are healthy and breeding.

The Darwin's Frog sculpture that artist Bernardo Oryan produced now sits to the left of the lab.

Our objective with the sculpture was to bring kids to the lab...and its worked!

The Darwin's Frog sculpture, just to the left of the lab.

The massive banner hanging in front of the lab really helps educate visitors about amphibian decline, the plight of Chile's amphibians, and about what our project is doing with Darwin's Frogs.

Invasive Amphibians

2011-06-07T20:46:05Z

Introducing a species into a place where it is not native is never a good idea. More times than not, the introduced species creates serious environmental problems. Often times, the problems are not things that could have easily been predicted. Native species often suffer after introductions. Introduced species may use native species as prey, they might out compete native species, or they may degrade some aspect of the habitat that ultimately hurts native species.

One introduction that threatens to pose serious problems in Chile is that of the African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis). This aquatic species is native to Africa but has been introduced to areas around the world. Because these frogs do so well in aquaria, they have been used for human pregnancy testing, in genetics, developmental, and environmental toxicology labs, and they have been a staple in the pet trade. African Clawed Frog are voracious predators, eating any small aquatic animal that it can fit into their mouth. These frogs can produce potent skin toxins and can poison larger native species that try to eat them. Importantly, African Clawed Frogs carry but are not damaged by the disease, amphibian chytrid fungus. In carrying the disease on their skin, they can spread the disease to native species as they are moved around by humans. African Clawed Frogs are often kept as pets in aquariums. The problem is that when the pet owner changes the water, that water is infected with amphibian chytrid fungus. The water winds up in a local wetland and exposes native amphibians to the disease. Amphibian chytrid fungus has devastated amphibian communities around the globe. Moving African Clawed Frogs around, in the pet trade or otherwise, is risky and could seriously damage native amphibian populations.

An introduced species in Chile, the African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) may have been the carrier of amphibian chytrid fungus to Chile.

The African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis) has been introduced to rivers in Chile.

Running into Rare Frogs…

2011-06-07T19:48:21Z

With so much time in the field, we bump into all kinds of rare and infrequently seen amphibians. Here are a few of the recent encounters…

The La Parva Spiny-chest Frog (Alsodes tumultuosus) inhabits a tiny patch of habitat near a ski resort. This male is in breeding condition - notice the keritonized spines on his chest. They are for helping him hold onto a female.

The La Parva Spiny-chest Frog (Alsodes tumultuosus) inhabits a tiny patch of habitat near a ski resort.

The Contulmo Ground Frog (Eusophus contulmoensis) is now restricted to a tiny roadside park.

The Mountain Spiny-chest Frog (Alsodes montanus) is found in Central Chile at elevations above 2000m.

Miguel's Ground Frog (Eupsophus migueli) is know from its type locality Known only from the type locality (Mehuín, Valdivia Province, Chile).

The Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo venustus) is a spectacular frog with a very small range.

The Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo venustus); this is a young adult.

Bullock’s Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo bullocki) is widely considered one of the rarest frogs in Chile.

The tadpoles of the False Toads are a stream type tadpole with a suctorial disc to scrape food from the substrate and hold on in fast flowing waters.

LOTS more on the way…

In the Field Again

2011-06-07T15:56:42Z

We have been busy looking at dozens of localities and testing for emergent infectious disease. We wanted to show everyone some images from the field.

Some individual Darwin's Frogs (Rhinoderma darwinii) have a nice mix of greens with other colors.

The ventral surface of Darwin's Frogs (Rhinoderma darwinii) is often times a beautiful series of white patches on a darker background color.

At the end of each field day, gear is cleaned off with bleach.

From left to right: Bill Lamar, Danté Fenolio, Andres Charrier

Andres Charrier captured this beautiful images of Pristidactylus valeria with a juvenile.

From left to right: Marty Crump, Bill Lamar, Danté Fenolio, Andres Charrier

It's always nice to see amphibians calling and breeding in the field. This is the Four Eyed Frog (Pleurodema thaul) calling.

Skin swabs are the contemporary way that scientists test for amphibian chytrid fungus. The process is relatively non-invasive. A swab is rubbed on the skin of the amphibian a number of times, then sent to a lab for PCR testing. The animal is released, unharmed.

Field trips are busy. Gear takes up much of the room in the field vehicles.

Often times, we use horses to trek into a remote forest patch. We camp in these remote sites for several days while we survey the amphibians there.

Andy is wondering just how well Dante will do on this horse...

Much more to come…

We Are in the News!

2011-06-07T15:14:44Z

Many thanks to Wildlife Extra for their top quality article on our breeding program!

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/darwins-frogs.html#cr

The first frogs in our facility: Sweet Success

2010-05-14T20:45:11Z

Once all of the environmental systems in our captive breeding facility checked out, we added our first group of frogs. Somewhat surprisingly, the frogs immediately began enacting reproductive behavior. We had calling and a bit of dancing around between males and females. We are happy to report that we already have at least one male frog holding developing young in his vocal sac!

When we collected our first group of Darwin's Frogs from the field, we used a cooler to keep the frogs at an appropriate temperature during the trip back to Santiago.

This is the male Darwin's Frog that is holding developing young in his vocal sac.

This is the the female that we believe bred with our male. Her job is now done. Female frogs deposit eggs and the male frogs take over from there. Males attend the developing eggs before taking their young into their mouths and on into their vocal sac.

Placing the finishing touches on the breeding center

2010-05-14T20:59:17Z

The captive breeding facility at the National Zoo in Santiago has been developing very well. Thankfully, no damage was done during the earthquake. Our hearts go out to all of those that lost property and loved ones in the terrible natural disaster.

We are all very pleased with how the climate control worked through the heat of Santiago’s summer. We wanted to wait to add frogs to the facility until we were sure all environmental systems were on line and working properly. We also added some safety precautions just in case something interrupted power or water services. One of our interpretive features includes a large statue of a Darwin’s Frog. Our hope is that the large figure will draw in folks to the breeding center where they can investigate the frogs and our project.

To draw people to the breeding facility at the National Zoo, we had the famous Chilean artist Bernardo Oryan build a large Darwin's Frog. The statue will be placed immediately next to the breeding facility.

Bernardo and Marcela show off the new Rhinoderma statue.

One of the safety features we decided to add to the laboratory was a self starting generator. This addition prevents the facility from overheating should the power go out on a hot Santiago afternoon. We would like to thank the Shared Earth Foundation for supporting this critically important addition to our captive breeding facility!

As another safety precaution, we purchased a 1,500L (~395 US Gallons) water reservoir. The reservoir sits on the hill above the breeding facility so that even if water is cut off to the zoo, several days worth of water can be gravity fed to the facility and the frogs can be properly maintained through the disruption of services.