http://www.stri.si.edu/english/about_stri/headline_news/news/article.php?id=359
This article may be six years old but those frogs were in the critically endangered list no doubt about it. Not only were they hunted but a deadly fungus was killing them too. The fungus is called chytridiomycosis and it infects only amphibians and it had killed 57 of the 70 frog species. In the article it was talking about how it could have became extinct in 5 to 6 years but in February 2, 2008 in this article. In the article it explains how the fungus kills them. The frog's skin acts like its lungs when that fungus spreads it covers its skin and then it can no longer breathe and then dies. There is a bright side to this though in Maryland there is a zoo that is trying to regrow their numbers. There are also other zoos that are trying to do this like the one in Detroit. They hope that the frog’s population will once again boom in numbers as the tadpoles hatch in only a couple of hours.
In this picture it shows a small 2 inch male Panamanian Gold frog as it tries to look for a remaining female.http://www.stri.si.edu/images/news_photos/big/2006Feb13_DeadlyFungusGFrog.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBQyifAgReA In that video it talks about the frogs mating patterns. I had watched the full documentary on it they said that they were lucky to record it because after them no one can have film of them or have outside human contact other than the scientist who is taking care of the poor little creature. It is funny because in the YouTube video they wave for there territory but on the frogs expression it seemed sad as if it were going to die. In this article http://www.celsias.com/article/golden-frog-waves-goodbye-then-goes-extinct-in-the/ they said they have currently become extinct in Panama in February 2, 2008. I hope that the conservation efforts keep the frog safe will increase their population. I love all animals and hearing that there might be hope makes me happy. I also hope that the fungus will go away.
Questions
1. Did this fungus affect other animals? If so where else did this fungus affect other animals?
2. Can this fungus affect humans at all?
3. Usually where does this fungus occur? (Such as in warmer climates or colder climates).
As the Panamanian frog does this blogger is waiving good bye. :)
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteThese little frogs are very cute, and it is so sad that they are falling towards extinction. I learned so many facts from reading this article and thought it was very cool how the frogs use their skin like humans use lungs.However, the frogs skin gets clogged up by the fungi/ disease and their numbers are now decreasing. I know that I depend on my lungs every day, and if their skin is damaged then they must be struggling. I really hope that the scientists discover a soltution to destroying the fungus that is killing these precious creatures. I'm hoping for the Panamanian Gold frog to come around, and not become fully extinct.
Expansion:
I actually did a little more research on the disease, Chytridiomycota, that was caused by the fungi. This article/webpage shares interesting information about this disease. I found it crazy to learn that in 1999, a new species of this chytrid fungus was discovered as Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis and it also effects the skin of frogs. Learn more here:
http://www.amphibianark.org/the-crisis/chytrid-fungus/
I also went a little bit further into the subject and read an article on the Philadelphia Zoo's website about the frogs. I learned that the zoo actaully has a small colony of the Panamanian Gold frogs that arrived on July 10, 2003 from the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. So, what do you say, class field trip?! Check it out: http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/zoo/Meet-Our-Animals/Amphibians/Frogs-and-Toads/Panamanian-golden-frog.htm
Answer a Question:
1: Yes, I do believe this fungus affects other animals. I don't think it is only killing the specific species of Panamanian Gold Frogs, but also hundreds of other frogs around the world. The fungus also effects other amphibians (like salamanders) besides the frog.
More Questions:
1: Why does this fungus kill the frogs? How does it get in their systems?
2: According to the article, in about how many years is it estimated for these golden frogs to become extinct? Do you think we can save them in time or not?
3:When was this fungus first documented? Where?
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteI have heard of the golden frog before, but never knew how bad their situation really was. In a way you can’t help but feel sorry for the little guys. The cause of their almost extinction is because of the harmful fungus. In the article it mentioned how the fungus affects the frog, is similar to how diseases affect lungs to humans. It once the frogs are affected by the fungus it is hard for them to recover. I wonder if there is any way to stop the fungus from spreading, but it didn’t really mention this in the article. I’m glad to hear that there are people and organizations that are trying to bring up the population numbers. I think this is something that needs to be done, because we could lose so much if this species goes extinct. I really hope that we can save the frogs from extinction, because these little frogs are too cute to lose.
Expansion
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070502160403.htm
This article talks about golden frogs that hatched as part of a protection project. Hotel Campestre in El Valle showed promising results as part of the Golden Frog Project. The Golden Frog Project is an organization that is dedicated to saving the golden frog species. Out of the hundreds of tadpoles, only about 25% would survive in the wild! Lucky they are being kept in the Hotel until the fungus problem is controlled.
3 More Questions
1)Do you think the fungus will ever be removed from the frog’s habitat?
2)Is the fungus affecting the other animals that live there?
3)Are there any other options to help save the frogs population?
It's really sad that these little cute frogs are so close to extinction because of a fungus. It's really great though that zoos in Maryland and other places are doing something to save them! I hope that does a really good job in increasing their numbers because otherwise that would be such a devastation to see these little frogs go extinct! It must be really hard that they have to use their skin as their lungs considering so many things can come in contact with their skin and clog it, but I also think its very cool, and different from other animals! Overall, I hope everything works out the best for them!
ReplyDeleteExpansion:
http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/zoo/Meet-Our-Animals/Amphibians/Frogs-and-Toads/Panamanian-golden-frog.htm
This article link is from the Philadelphia Zoo website and it tells a little bit about these frogs.
Question:
#2: No, it says it can only affect amphibians, so therefore it cannot affect humans.
More questions:
#1: How did the fungus start?
#2: Do you think this frog species will end up going extinct regardless of the efforts to keep their population numbers up?
#3: What made the fungus spread so fast?
When I readt this article, I could not believe that an animal could have skin as their lungs. Imagine how delicate and easy it can be to become infected. If one little thing happens to your skin, your whole breathing system would be affected. It is sad because these frogs probably are not on the top of the list of species to save and recieve funding, in face I have never heard of them before this article. Not only is this fungus infecting these frogs, but others too. Maybe there is something that could be done to get the fungus away from these creatures. There is nothing they can do. Of course the frogs were also hunted, but that is so uncalled for. Hunting these frogs is not necessary for humans. I hope other zoos and reserves put this frog back on the right track.
ReplyDeleteExpansion:
I found a photo of the fungus actually harming a species of frogs. It is so gross looking! Here is the link: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1249&bih=561&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=B-9rHlFPjxyzoM:&imgrefurl=http://benthebutterflyguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/chytridiomycosis-fungus-that-had-killed.html&docid=JiwM3c9nly5zuM&imgurl=http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-launch-02.jpg&w=500&h=333&ei=AmdVT4OEFMHg0QHpwNXHDQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=698&vpy=141&dur=2273&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=145&ty=118&sig=106238973459876110688&page=1&tbnh=110&tbnw=163&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0
Casey's question number 2: Yes. It is affecting so many other amphibian species, especially other species of frogs.
Questions:
1- Do you think funding the protection of these frogs is worth the money?
2- Are the frogs currently adapting a way to fight off this deadly fungus?
3- Do other species in this food web rely on the fungus? Is it helpgul to certain organisms or just harmful?