A newly-established population of mountain chickens appears to be alive and well, three months on from their reintroduction back into the wild. The news is an encouraging step in the right direction for the scientists working to ensure the survival of this Critically Endangered frog.

Disturbing declines

The curiously-named mountain chicken is a species of amphibian found only on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. In recent years, populations of the mountain chicken have declined by as much as 80% in the wild.

Several factors have been attributed to the mountain chicken’s alarming decline, including the apparent likeness of its taste to that of chicken, which has resulted in this species becoming a local delicacy and an attractive lure to local hunters. This species has also been affected by Montserrat’s active volcano, which erupted in 1995 and rendered parts of the island uninhabitable.

However, perhaps the most troubling threat to the mountain chicken is the presence of the fatal chytrid fungus on Montserrat. This devastating disease has already severely affected many amphibian species around the world.

Saving a species

After discovering the disease had spread to the island in 2009, researchers described the frog’s outlook as ‘desperate’, and hopes for its long-term survival looked fairly slim, with only two uninfected populations remaining.

In a bid to save the species, conservationists from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey and a number of other zoos in the UK and Sweden embarked on an emergency mission to airlift 50 surviving mountain chickens to safety.

Some of these frogs were relocated to Jersey, UK, where dedicated herpetologists worked to successfully breed the frogs in captivity and prepare them for reintroduction back into the wild.

A promising start

In January 2012, a population of 33 healthy mountain chickens were released back onto Montserrat. The frogs were all fitted with an electronic tag before their release, to help scientists track their movements more effectively.

Three months on from the frogs’ release, Sarah-Louise Smith, project co-ordinator for the Mountain Chicken Recovery Programme, says that “the fact that we still have live frogs in the release site looking healthy and calling is a very encouraging sign.”

“Some frogs will be found underground in burrows or at the bottom of ponds so we would never find them without this technique,” said Ms Smith, referring to the electronic tags. “When we find the frogs we collect data such as location, swabs of the skin to test for the chytrid and any signs they might be breeding.”

Although some of the released frogs have been infected by chytridiomycosis, the team say that this could in fact help them to better understand the problem facing the mountain chicken in its natural habitat.

Scientists are now hoping to listen for further signs that the frogs are surviving and potentially breeding by setting up microphones, nicknamed ‘frog loggers’, to listen out for their calls and monitor signs of survival in other parts of the island.

“Between April and September the males have a very distinctive ‘whooping’ call that echoes around the forest to attract females to their burrow, so we’re hoping to start hearing these calls as confirmation frogs are trying to breed,” says Ms Smith.

Hope for the future

Although the current signs are encouraging, Ms Smith says, “We still have a long way to go with our research and there is still a lot about the chytrid that we do not know, but there are many people local and international dedicated to the mountain chicken and working hard to make sure we are successful.”

The chytrid disease is known to currently affect over 500 species of amphibian worldwide, penetrating the skin and causing lesions which prevent sufficient oxygen entering the body, effectively suffocating them.

Read the full article on BBC Nature: ‘Chicken’ frogs survive in new home

Find out more about the mountain chicken on ARKive

Find out more about the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Find out more about the Mountain Chicken Recovery Programme

Helen Roddis, ARKive Species Text Author

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Goliath frog (Conraua goliath)

 Species: Goliath frog (Conraua goliath)

Status: Endangered (EN)

Interesting Fact: The goliath frog is the largest frog in the world, weighing in at over 3 kilograms.

The goliath frog can be found in flowing rainforest rivers in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. Goliath frogs lack vocal sacs, and so their courtship displays do not involve the characteristic calls of most other frogs and toads. Females lay several hundred eggs onto vegetation on the river bottom, and once hatched, the tadpoles feed on the plant Dicraea warmingii. Complete metamorphosis takes around 85-95 days, and once mature the adults feed on insects, crustaceans and fish.

This species has a highly restricted range, as much of the dense rainforest of the goliath frog’s habitat has been deforested for timber or to make way for agriculture. Goliath frogs are also considered a delicacy and are collected by local people for food. Captive breeding programmes have not proven successful and the only method of effectively preserving this amphibious giant is to safeguard areas of remaining habitat

Find out more about the goliath frog on the American Museum of Natural History  website. 

View photos and videos of the goliath frog on ARKive.

Lauren Pascoe, ARKive Media Researcher

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Water is essential to all forms of life on Earth. That said, the enormous increase in the human population over the past few decades has placed a greater strain on the world’s freshwater reserves through direct consumption, agriculture and manufacturing activities. Sadly water shortages are not uncommon in many parts of the world. These shortages can have devastating effects for both people and wildlife and can be exacerbated by climate change.

The UN recognises March 22^nd as International World Water Day to encourage people to limit their use of water as well as to highlight the issue of water shortages. To mark the day, we thought we would highlight just a few of the many organisms that depend on freshwater for survival.

Water as a jealously guarded dive site

Blink and you could miss the all the action! A kingfisher emerges from the water victorious with its catch

The striking yet elusive kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is famous for diving from its perch into rivers to catch fish and invertebrates. As the kingfisher requires a relatively large amount of food to sustain itself it will aggressively defend its watery hunting ground from other kingfishers with threatening displays and even physical contest. As kingfishers require clear water to see their prey and vegetation on which to perch, their presence is a good indicator of a healthy river ecosystem.

Water as a spawning ground and nursery

A mass of green-thighed frog frogspawn in freshwater

Amphibians depend on freshwater in some form or another to lay their eggs, which develop into fully aquatic tadpoles. Predation on tadpoles is often high which is why most species lay a large number of eggs in a specific breeding season. This strategy is practiced by the green-thighed frog maximising the amount of offspring that survive to adulthood.

Water as a last refuge

A pair of Cuban crocodiles in swamp habitat

The Cuban crocodile is found in only two freshwater swamps in Cuba. This extremely restricted range makes it highly vunerable to extinction and it depends on these specific habitats for its survival. Fortunately due to recent conservation efforts the Cuban crocodile’s numbers are recovering.

Water as a trap

The water boatman will make a meal out of any insects trapped on the surface of the water, like this dragon fly

A fierce predator in many ponds and lakes across Europe, the water boatman sits and waits near the surface of the water until it detects movement nearby… it then swoops in on its prey with a toxic bite!

Water as a place to grow

Growing from the deep: a white water-lily flower, view from underwater

Freshwater ponds and lakes all around the world are home to a huge array of interesting and beautiful plant life. The white water-lily has many adaptations to a life in freshwater such as its large flat leaves that float on the surface of the water so as to receive more light. Aquatic plants also often have important roles in freshwater ecosystems, oxygenating the water, provide nesting sites and keeping algal blooms under control.

Water as a place to set up a fortress

An American beaver swims with a tree branch

The American beaver is famous for drastically altering its freshwater surroundings to make a suitable habitat. Using its tough incisors to fell trees for dams, the beaver creates an area of open, still water where it constructs its lodge. Entrance to the lodge is only possible from under the water and therefore the beaver and any offspring are protected from terrestrial predators. The beaver itself also has specific adaptations for a life in water with webbed feet and a large flat tail used for propulsion as well as a dense underfur that keeps it warm even in freezing water.

Water as a hunting ground

A pike sheltering under water lily leaf

All ecosystems have a ‘top dog’ predator and in many rivers and creeks in Europe this will be the pike. A ferocious predator, the pike will remain perfectly still waiting for prey to come within a close distance and then move in for the kill with a lightening fast strike. Pike are likely to consider many of the animals in their watery environment as prey including fish, crayfish, frogs and newts and even ducklings and small mammals. Pike do need to be careful around members of their own species though as larger pike have been known to practice cannibalism!

Find out more about World Water Day 2012.

George Bradford, ARKive Media Researcher

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The real purpose of a leap year may be to keep the calendar aligned with the seasons, but at the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, we’d like to believe the day is designed to honor our favorite leapers. To celebrate, we’ve put together some fun facts about frog leaping.

Silverstoneia flotator, leaping

• Not all frogs can leap, or even hop. The desert rain frog (Breviceps macrops) has legs that are too short to hop. Instead, it walks.                 

• Male frogs of the genus Pipa are known to defend their territory by jumping at and then wrestling other males.

• The New Guineabush frog (Asterophrys turpicola) takes jump attacks one step further: before it jumps at a strange frog, it inflates itself and shows off its blue tongue.

• Stumpffia tridactyla are normally slow-moving critters, but when they’re startled they can abruptly jump up to 8 inches. That doesn’t sound very far, but these little guys are less than half an inch long!

• The Fujitree frog (Platymantis vitiensis) may be the leaping stuntman of the frog world. Each time it leaps, it twists in the air – sometimes even 180 degrees – to throw predators off its trail.

Desert rain frog walking

• The Larut torrent frog (Amolops larutensis) gets its name from a nifty leaping trick: it can jump into a fast-moving stream and back to its usual perch, the underside of a rock, without being affected by the current.

• The parachuting red-eyed leaf frog (Agalychnis saltator) gets its name from its habit of racing to its mating grounds by jumping from trees with finger-and toe-webbing spread wide.

• The record for the longest jump by an American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) recorded in a scientific paper is a little over 1.2 metres. But scientists who went to the Calaveras County Fair, which Mark Twain’s short story made famous for frog jumping, found that more than half the competitors bested that record – and one jumped more than 2.1 metres in one leap!

• The Guinness Book of World Records doesn’t include any frogs for their leaping ability. But it does track human performance in frog jumping (jumping while holding one’s toes). There are records listed for the longest frog jump and the fastest frog jumping over 10 and 100 meters.

In honor of leap day celebrations being coordinated globally by Amphibian Ark, the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project made this video for a frog song written by Alex Culbreth.

Meghan Bartels, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project

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A male Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog, believed to be one of only two of its species left in the world, has died, bringing the population of this Critically Endangered amphibian down to a single remaining individual.

The male had been kept at Zoo Atlanta in the United States, as part of a last-ditch effort to save the species from extinction. However, following a decline in its health and behaviour the zoo took the difficult decision to euthanize the frog, both to prevent it suffering and also to ensure that invaluable genetic material could be preserved. This material may one day allow scientists to study the species further.

“Amphibians decompose much more rapidly than do many other classes of animals. Had the frog passed away overnight when no staff members were present, we would have lost any opportunity to preserve precious genetic material,” said Joseph Mendelson, Curator of Herpetology at Zoo Atlanta.

“To lose that chance would have made this extinction an even greater tragedy in terms of conservation, education and biology.”

On the brink of extinction

Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog was first discovered by Mendelson and his colleagues during a 2005 field expedition to Panama, and was only officially described as a new species as recently as 2008.

A large frog with substantial webbing on its feet and scalloped fringes of skin along its forearms and feet, this unusual amphibian has been known to leap from treetops and use its outstretched limbs and large, webbed hands and feet to glide to the ground.

Sadly, the arrival of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which has begun to threaten native amphibian populations in Panama, has decimated this rare frog. Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog has not been seen in the wild since 2007, and is now believed to exist only in captivity.

Even if some wild individuals have survived the fungal disease, the habitat of this species is also under serious threat from forest clearance, and its restriction to one small area puts the species at particularly high risk of extinction.

Last lonely frog

The only other Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog known to exist is another male, kept at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. With the loss of the male at Zoo Atlanta, this remaining individual is likely to be the very last of his species.

According to Dwight Lawson, Deputy Director at Zoo Atlanta, “This is the second time in my career that I have literally seen one of the very last of its kind die and an entire species disappear forever with it. It is a disturbing experience, and we are all poorer for it.”

“The ongoing amphibian extinction crisis has taken a rich diversity of animals from us, and more effort and resources are desperately needed to halt the losses.”

Global conservation effort

Amphibian populations are declining around the world, and Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog is not the only species to be facing extinction. Nor is it the only amphibian thought to now exist only in captivity.

Over a third of all amphibian species are currently threatened with extinction, with many facing a range of threats, including habitat loss, pollution, and the rapid spread of the deadly chytrid fungus.

Fortunately, many zoos and other organisations are working together to address this extinction crisis and to save threatened amphibian species. Although it may already be too late for Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog, there may still be time to bring other endangered species back from the brink of extinction.

Read more on this story in the Zoo Atlanta press release.

Find out more about amphibian conservation at Amphibian Ark.

View photos of Rabb’s fringe-limbed treefrog on ARKive.

View photos and videos of other threatened amphibians on ARKive.

Liz Shaw, ARKive Species Text Author

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