AMPHIBIAN AND AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE CONSERVATIONREPTILE CONSERVATION

Yosemite Monteverde

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Global Amphibian Assessment The first-ever comprehensive assessment of

the conservation status of the world's 5,918 known species of frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians

Extinct (or extinct in the wild)

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Not ThreatenedLeast Concern

Data Deficient

Exam III

Last day of class…Thurs, Dec. 9 Read Ch 8, 9, 10, and 11 from Gibbs et al.

(short chapters) Read Ch. 14 from Vitt and Caldwell Be familiar with invited lecture (Thomas) and

“Demography” and “Conservation” overview lecture by Gibbs

Know your NYS “herp regs”

Global Amphibian Assessment Key Findings

Nearly one-third (32%) of the world’s amphibian species are threatened, representing 1,856 species (vs. 12% of birds and 23% of mammals)

As many as 168 amphibian species may already be extinct 43% of species are declining in population, vs. < 1 %

increasing Highest numbers of threatened species are in Latin

American countries such as Colombia (208), Mexico (191), and Ecuador (163)

Reptiles in DeclineThe Global Decline of Reptiles, 

Déjà Vu Amphibians BioScience 2000*

by J. Whitfield Gibbons, David E. Scott, Travis J.

Ryan, Kurt A. Buhlmann, Tracey D. Tuberville, Brian S. Metts, Judith L. Greene, Tony Mills, Yale

Leiden, Sean Poppy, and Chris Winne

*http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/staff/Winne%20-%20gibbons%20et%20al%202000.pdf

Most anurans and many salamanders breed in wetlands.

Many reptiles also highly dependent Loss of wetlands = loss of

amphibians and reptiles Lower 48 states lost an average of 54%

of the estimated original 221 million acres of wetlands from 1780s to the 1980s Iowa, for example, lost approximately 95% of

its wetlands.

HABITAT LOSS IS THE GREATEST THREAT

Extinct!

Vegas Valley Leopard frog (Rana fisheri)

Declines in habitat quality…

Losses of Temporary Wetlands Especially important Many eliminated by:

Grading, Mosquito control, Human tidiness

Extremely vulnerable Largely unprotected

                                                                              

Created by John Rozum, NEMO National Coordinator

Source: Megan Griffiths

Introduced Species Predation of alien species

on native species Competition for resources Introduction of pathogens by non-

native species Hybridization

Decline of the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog

Rana mucosa

Impact of stocked fish on yellow-legged frog Knapp et al. 2001

Ecological Monographs

Reptiles and amphibians can be invaders, too…

Over-harvesting of reptiles

Sea turtles for food Freshwater turtles for food Iguanids for food Anything intriguing for the

pet trade

Last Saturday in January at the new RattleSnake Grounds

US 84 Whigham, Georgia 9:00 am to 5:00pm

Arts and Crafts - Food Booths RATTLESNAKE EXIHIBITS

Don't forget to try some deep-fried Western Diamondback Rattlesnake meat …and The Gun, Knife and Coin show that will be offered as well

Over 123 tons of Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes turned in to date

Rattlesnake Round-up

                                                                                                                                                                      

Gopher tortoises in Florida http://www.empireoftheturtle.com/Florida/gopherus_polyphemus.htm

Asian turtle “crisis”

Over-collecting and amphibians People collect amphibians for

food medicines bait, pets even for teaching biology.

In some parts of the world collecting alone appears to cause declines.

India, for example, has banned frog exports because of pest increases in rice paddies

Real 3½" to 4" frogs preserved in anise scented liquid. Three frogs per jar A sure thing for all game fish.

Eating Frogs to Extinction, IAN G.WARKENTIN et al., Conservation Biology

Dried newts in Lhasa market

NYS law protecting reptiles and amphibians…know these! Regulation: Chapter 1 – Fish and Wildlife http://www.dec.ny.gov/regs/2494.html Part 3: Reptiles and Amphibians * Section 3.1: Diamondback Terrapins * Section 3.2: Native Turtles * Section 3.3: Native Snakes * Section 3.4: Native Lizards * Section 3.5: Native Frogs * Section 3.6: Native Salamanders

Parasites and disease: Emerging pathogens: Chytridiomycosis Frogs may be suffocating because

of the fungal growth In reaction to chytrid infections,

they lay down extra layers of keratin in their skin.

Another possibility is that the fungus is releasing a toxin.

Latest news: ionic balance

Carcass of an Australian amphibian (Myxophyes fasciolatus) that died from cutaneous chytridiomycosis. This individual died in a mass mortality event in a captive collection.

Chytrid Fungi Chytrid fungi is at least a proximate

cause of current die-offs in Central and North America

New chytrids moving in waves around world

Direct cause? Stress-induced? New pathogen?

Spread by Xenopus? In the 1930s, discovered that

a female Xenopus would ovulate if injected with the urine from a pregnant woman

Hormone chorionic gonadotropin was the active ingredient.

In the 1940s and 50s, the only available pregnancy test

Many hospitals kept Xenopus but many releases: California, Chile, England etc.

Future? Probiotics? Adaptation?

Contaminants Consider Atrazine, a common weed

killer More than 60 million pounds applied

last year in the United States alone. Used to control weeds on about two-

thirds of all U.S. corn and sorghum acreage - improves corn yield by slightly more than 4%

Collects in frog breeding ponds Atrazine ups production of the

enzyme aromatase, which converts androgen hormones to estrogen hormones

Contaminants - Atrazine

Abnormal gonads in a male Xenopus frog, the result of exposure to the herbicide atrazine. The frog has become a hermaphrodite, that is, it has both male (testes) and female (ovaries) sex organs

Tyrone Hayes with Colorado river toad (Bufo alvarius). Peg Skorpinski photo.

April 16 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Deformities

see: http://www.hartwick.edu/biology/def_frogs/index.html

Parasites and deformities 5% natural background rate At least 41 species representing 35 genera

and 21 families of trematodes have amphibian larvae as intermediate hosts

Also use snails as hosts Trematode larvae burrow into

amphibian tissues to form cysts and affect limb development

Trematodes? Natural or unnatural? Trematode densities are heavily

influenced by water quality Snail hosts benefit from wetland

eutrophication Increased N concentrations

can boost populations

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Happy Holidays!