Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Scott W]

NEWS RELEASE
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org
3 October 2005

Greenwire
AMPHIBIANS
Environmentalists say $404 million dollars needed for species protection

Environmentalists proposed a $404 million global action plan yesterday at a
conference in Washington D. C. to protect and preserve amphibian species.
The
conference came in response to a study last year that revealed one-third of
all
amphibian species face a high risk of extinction.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and
Conservation
International joined other wildlife groups to plan further research studies
and
long term initiatives to protect amphibian habitats. Next is the task of
securing
funds for the projects from private institutions and individual donors.

"The frogs are trying to tell us something," said Andrew Dobson, a Princeton
University professor who studies infectious diseases in the wild. "We're
making
the world a sicker place and, mercifully, the frogs have picked up on it
before
humans."

The Global Amphibian Assessment, released last October, revealed that of
5,743
amphibian species, 34 are known to be extinct and more than a hundred others
are believed to have suffered extinction. While scientists said the most
common
threat to amphibians appears to be the fungal disease chytridomycosis, viral
disease, habitat loss, drought and pollution are other commonly cited
reasons
for population declines.

The effect of chytridiomycosis on frog populations in south and central
America,
Australia, Africa and Europe has become the primary cause for concern as
scientists push for captive breeding programs to protect species from the
disease.

Not all scientists agree that removing threatened amphibians from the wild
is
the answer. "We've been running a captive breeding program with the Boreal
Toad since 1995," said Cynthia Carey, a professor at the University of
Colorado.
"We've tried reintroducing them to the wild seven or eight times, but every
time
they die within a couple of years; if you don't get rid of the fungus, all
you're
doing is providing it with lunch."
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