[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/EW-02-21-12-Frogs.mp3|titles=EW 02-21-12 Frogs]
Forests normally humming with the chorus of calling frogs are falling silent and the forest floor is covered in dead or dying frogs. The animals seem to be losing their skin. This sounds like the makings of a science fiction movie – but it’s the stuff of real life. And it’s occurring in forests around the world.
A nasty fungal disease called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, has caused dramatic declines of at least 200 frog species. And research suggests that Bd, in combination with climate change and land use, will continue to result in catastrophic frog declines, especially in areas that harbor the greatest diversity of animals, such as the cloud forests of Central America.
The situation has gained international attention and scientists have been scrambling to discover the origins of this frog killing fungus— in hopes of stopping its spread, increasing our understanding of disease emergence, and finding a cure. Recent research suggests that the fungus may have emerged from the wildlife trade.
“One thing that has happened is that American bull frogs have been transported all around the world, partly for the frog-leg trade,” says Catherine L. Searle, a researcher at Georgia Tech University. “Bull frogs are interesting in that they seem to be infected with Bd and they seem to get high loads of it, but they don’t seem to die from it. So they may be spreading the disease.”
Exotic frogs have long been collected and valued for home aquariums. Sadly, we humans are aiding in the development of diseases by moving them around the world. Our desire to keep frogs in tanks has fueled a killer fungus that is wiping them out in the wild. And saving them may require keeping captive populations in tanks until we find a cure for Bd.
To help support captive frog breeding programs go to: www.amphibianrescue.org
“This script was adapted from a column by Emma-Rosi Marshall that originally ran in the Poughkeepsie Journal. You can access the original article here (http://www.caryinstitute.org/ecofocus_2011-12-04.html).”
Web extra
Catherine L. Searle, a researcher at Georgia Tech University, discusses the factors contributing to the spread of Bd…
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Searle_extra.mp3|titles=Searle_extra]Photo, taken on February 3, 2011 in Panama, PA, courtesy of Brian Gratwicke via Flickr.