Volume 1, Number 1
AMPHIBIAN SURVIVAL ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER
the alliance
Winter 2013
The world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation
Year of the Salamander
© Robin Moore
Scaling up conservation, education and research efforts
LEAPFROG
© Robin Moore
Million Dollar Fund for Frogs
FEATURED PROJECT Palawan, Philippines
© Molly Bletz
ASG Working Groups Providing guidance to Alliance partners looking to prioritize amphibian conservation efforts.
PROBIOTICS Proactive conservation in Madagascar Hispaniola Giant Treefrog, Ostoepilus vastus, a threatened species in the Massif de la Selle, Haiti. © Robin Moore
Š Edwin Giesbers
Alliance Partners in the Spotlight
Emerald Glass Frogs, Espadarana prosoblepon, from Las Tangaras Reserve in the Choco forests of Colombia. Š Robin Moore
Rainforest Trust Rainforest Trust joined the Alliance in 2013, recognizing the benefits of working together to create a global fund to support habitat conservation. Thanks to their leardership the ASA was recently able to announce a USD $1,000,000 fund for amphibian conservation.
Global Wildlife Conservation Joining the Alliance in late 2012, GWC saw the ASA as an important alliance to further global amphibian conservation efforts. GWC have invested significant staff resources, seconding two staff to the Alliance to help develop the organization and projects. GWC also provides the fiscal framework from which the Alliance secretariat can legally operate.
1% for the Planet 1% for the Planet joined the Alliance in 2013 and is helping to build business partners for the Alliance. This places the ASA among a diverse, global network of environmental organizations working toward a more sustainable future. This also makes ASA eligible to receive funds from over 1000 member businesses, who are using the power of commerce on behalf of the environment.
Meet Your Neighbours Joining the Alliance in 2013, Meet Your Neighbours is working with the ASA to help promote the protection and wellbeing of amphibians around the world through the power of conservation photography.
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Introduction
A message from the Executive Director of the Amphibian Survival Alliance
For too long now we have heard stories of declines, extinction and lack of hope with regards to conserving biodiversity and especially amphibians. The Amphibian Survival Alliance plans to change this rhetoric by focusing on new opportunities and delivering conservation successes. The Alliance Partners have already shown that much can be achieved, to not only conserve amphibians around the world, but to help improve the ecosystems in which they live for the benefit of all biodiversity, including people. Taking these success stories and building on the work of a dedicated and passionate community we will engage with a broader and more diverse audience than ever before in the history of amphibian conservation.
ways. By sharing the impact the ASA is having on amphibians around the world we will be able to engage a range of people and donors who perhaps had not considered supporting amphibians in the past. We will ensure that we are judged on our conservation impact. To help donors assess our success we will continually report on progress made on short, medium and long-term goals. This is a new and exciting time for amphibian conservation and research, and we look forward to working with you to make the changes we all want to see. Don Church, Executive Director Amphibian Survival Alliance
We believe that this movement needs to be about more than people donating to a cause that they believe in; it needs to be about people telling their stories, becoming engaged and focusing on making a difference to the survival of the 7000+ amphibian species that live on our planet. We want our supporters to not only be donors but spokespeople for the cause, inspired to take action in multiple
The world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation
The ASG Working Groups The Alliance was formed on a foundation of sound science and we are adamant that as the Alliance grows that this foundation is continually built upon. In Mid 2013 the Alliance developed a working agreement with the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) whereby the ASG would establish itself as the Scientific Advisory Board to the Alliance. This was a significant step for the ASG as it meant their previous focus on implementing habitat protection projects would be handed on to the Alliance partners allowing them to focus on rallying their extensive network of expert volunteers from around the world. As with any significant operational change there was always going to be growing pains but all in all the process is moving forward well. The ASG immediately identified and began to form the following working groups: Habitat Protection
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Climate Change
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Infectious Diseases
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Trade & Policy
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Ecotoxicology
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Captive Breeding
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Reintroductions
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Red List
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Taxonomy & Systematics
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Genome Banking
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Species Conservation Strategies
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Surveys & Monitoring
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Communications & Education
Over the course of 2014 Alliance staff will be working closely with the ASG to continue to develop this process and help provide guidance to Alliance partners looking to prioritize amphibian conservation efforts.
© Jaime García Moreno
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Under the leadership of two co-facilitators, groups were then asked to look at the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP) and identify a range of priority actions that should be implemented by the Alliance. Key to this process was a clear indication of how the priority actions fit into a broad conservation strategy. As groups began to identify priority actions the Alliance quickly moved forward to implement these and by the end of the year were actively working on approximately 90% of actions identified by the working groups.
SIMON STUART, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission The ASA is leading an unprecedented and coordinated global response to the amphibian extinction crisis by leveraging the capacity of organizations around the world to tackle the most pressing threats to the most threatened group of vertebrates
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Palawa
The lush island province of Palawan represents a last frontier for conservation in t primary forests (the Philippines as a whole has had its original forest cover whittle oldest and most diverse in Southeast Asia.
Philippine Flat-headed Frog, Barbourula busuangensis, a threatened species from Palawan. © Robin Moore
Mossy Treefrog, Polypedates leucomystax, from Palawan. © Robin Moore
From left to right: (1) a monitor lizard, Varanus palawanensis, flicks its forked tongue towards the camera in the forests of Palawan. (2) forests of Cleopatra’s Needle; (3) a Batak child in a makeshift trailer. © Robin Moore
Palawan was identified in a November 2013 study published in Science, as the world’s fourth most “irreplaceable” area for unique and threatened wildlife. The unique blend of endemic species can be explained by the fact that the island was once connected to Borneo, resulting in a mix of influences from Sundaland and the Philippine Archipelago. Threatened species include the Palawan Bearcat, Philippine Cockatoo (Critically Endangered), Palawan Forest Turtle (Critically Endangered), Palawan Horned Frog (Endangered), Palawan Toadlet (Endangered) and Philippine Flat-headed Frog (Vulnerable). Despite receiving international recognition as a UNESCO Biosphere Re-
serve containing two World Heritage Sites, the island remains relatively understudied, and its forests are diminishing as a result of a variety of pressures. Puerto Princesa municipality, in the center of the island, contains 65% forest cover and one National Park: Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. The eastern boundary of the 22,000 hectare National Park follows the most west flank of Cleopatra’s needle, the highest and most pristine peak in northern Palawan. Key habitats, population strongholds of endangered species and the presence of tribal people were not fully included when designating
Hylarana nicobariensis on the island of Palawan. © Robin Moore
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The world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation
an
the Philippines, boasting half of its original ed down to just 3%) that are some of the
Palawan horned frog, Megophrys ligayae, a threatened species from the Philippines. © Robin Moore
the park boundaries and this has left about 80,000 hectares of forest, including the peak of Cleopatra’s Needle (the source of many rivers that wind through the forests), unprotected. The area is home to the last 200 members of the Batak tribe. This tribe of hunter gatherers, the first inhabitants of the Philippines originating in Papua New Guinea, still live in balance with the forest. They live in simple makeshift huts and travel around gathering resin, and honey while catching the occasional Palawan Bearded Pig. In order to protect these unique forests in perpetuity, local group the Center for Sustainability are, with the support of ASA, Rainforest Trust and the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, working with the local government of Puerto Princesa and the Batak peoples to create and delineate, by the end of 2014, Cleopatra’s Needle Forest Reserve. The Reserve will encompass between 40,000 and 50,000 hectares of primary forest and a management plan for the area will be informed
by upcoming comprehensive biodiversity surveys to ensure the survival of myriad endemic species. Visit our website to find out more and support this project.
From left to right: (1) portrait of a Batak family in Puerto Princesa municipality, Palawan (2) Cleopatra’s Needle, Palawan; (3) Green crested lizard, Bronchocela cristatella, in the forests of Puerto Princesa municipality, Palawan. © Robin Moore
A juvenile Palawan horned frog, Megophrys ligayae. © Robin Moore
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2014 Year of the Salamander
Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC), the Amphibian Survival Alliance and conservation groups from around the world have designated 2014 as the Year of the Salamander (YoSal). Through this partnership, organizations and individuals will work together to not just raise awareness of salamanders but also really scale up global salamander conservation, education and research efforts. As part of its commitment to YoSal, the Alliance is working with a number of US based organizations to help focus efforts and raise awareness of conservation opportunities for the Red Hill Salamander in Alabama. The Red Hills Salamander project provides a fantastic opportunity to showcase how communities, governments, non-profits and industry can all work together to help save amphibians and create a healthy environment. The Alliance is also working with a range of partners around the world to ensure that YoSal is truly an international event. Alliance partners are helping to create educational materials, identify priority projects and further research activities all intertwind with YoSal to help promote these incredible species and encourage others to help protect them long into the future. Over the course of this year we will be reporting on a number of YoSal related activities. If you are interested in becoming involved in YoSal please contact Candace Hansen: cmhansen@amphibians.org
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Important Amphibian Areas The goal of Important Amphibian Areas is to identify, protect and manage a global network of sites important for the long term persistence of amphibian populations across their natural ranges. It is a systematic approach to identify those sites that contribute significantly to the maintenance of amphibian diversity, and for which a site-based approach is appropriate - similar to BirdLife’s successful IBA programme. The sites are a subset of the Key Biodiversity Areas and follow the same methodology as these are restricted exclusively to amphibian species. We are working on this together with IUCN, which is developing on new standards for the KBA definition, and BirdLife, which currently curates the existing KBA-IBA database. We have talked to AmphibiaWeb about the possibility of using their mapping skills to set up an online IAA catalogue, aided by the California Academy of Sciences and the University of Trier.
The Massif de la Hotte in southwest Haiti contains one of the highest concentrations of critically endangered frogs in the world. © Robin Moore
The forests surrounding Cleopatra’s Needle, on the island of Palawan in the Philippines, have been recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area on account of their unique and threatened biodiversity. © Robin Moore
Frog Probiotics In response to the priorities set by amphibian summits convened by the IUCN in 2005 and 2009, the ASA is focusing on habitat protection and disease mitigation as the major thematic areas for conservation action. Although amphibian disease continues to be a threat for which mitigation in the field remains experimental, there has been progress both in the laboratory and in field experiments for reducing the threat of amphibian chytridiomycosis. Most notably, probiotics can be developed using native bacterial strains that inhibit pathogenic chytrid fungus. To date, experimental implementation has been limited to North America, with a successful field trial completed in California by Vance Vredenburg and his collaborators. The ASA recently appointed Reid Harris, the originator of the probioitic treatment for amphibian chytridiomycosis, as Director of International Disease Mitigation. As a first priority, Harris and an international team led by the Malagasy Chytrid Emergency Cell are working to monitor the strains of the chytrid fungus that are likely to arrive at any time in Madagascar, and build on the early discovery of anti-chytrid bacteria that his team col-
lected and cultured in 2013 from the island. This effort will be a major focus of the ASA in 2014 with plans to develop a fully implementable probiotic tool for Madagascar, New Guinea and other areas of the world with amphibian populations that are, as yet, naive to chytrid fungus. Our partners in the Malagasy probiotic initiative include Molly Bletz at the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Doug Woodhams at the University of Colorado, Kevin Minbiole at Villanova University and Louise Rollins-Smith at Vanderbilt University.
Harlequin mantella (Mantella cowani) © Molly Bletz
The world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation
The Amphibian Survival Alliance has joined forces with Rainforest Trust, Global Wildlife Conservation and the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation to commit one million dollars to protect key amphibian habitats worldwide over the coming year. The fund, which has been named the Leapfrog Conservation Fund, will be dispersed through the ASA to tackle the primary threat to the survival of amphibians, and biodiversity as a whole - habitat loss. Through the strategic protection of key parcels of amphibian habitat worldwide, the Leapfrog Conservation Fund seeks to protect dozens of threatened and endemic amphibian species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Through dynamic international collaboration, the fund is poised to leverage this initial investment to truly scale up habitat protection for frogs, salamanders and caecilians. The fund builds on conservation successes such as preserving the Sierra Caral of Guatemala, and seeks to build upon these successes elsewhere in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
More information on the fund can be found here. If you have a project to submit for consideration or are interested in developing a proposal for the Leapfrog Conservation Fund please contact Robin Moore including the following information: •
Project location
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Lead local partner (with appropriate links to website etc)
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Target species (including IUCN Status and whether they are AZE triggers)
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Proposed actions, timeline and approximate budget (please note, the Leapfrog Conservation Fund supports the creation of new protected areas for amphibians. It does not, at this time, support research projects).
Amazing Amphibians The Amazing Amphibians initiative was born out of a joint desire to share the incredible diversity of amphibians with the world. Biodiversity is the backbone of all life on earth and through this initiative we hope to celebrate some of the amazing amphibians around us, promote the fantastic work taking place to protect them by partners such as yourself and highlight the areas we, as an Alliance, still need to work on.
It was inspired by the widely popular “Amazing Species” weekly web initiative which is run by the Species Survival Commission and supported by the IUCN Global Species Programme to increase the awareness of our globally threatened species. Every second Monday a new Amazing Amphibian will be posted online for you to share on your website, social media network and through email. We hope that as an Alliance partner, you will help spread the word about just how Amazing Amphibians really are.
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FrogLog
Share Your Stories!
Conservation news for the herpetological community: FrogLog 109 is now online.
Inside this Special Edition of FrogLog, we showcase examples of collaborative amphibian conservation efforts from around the world—from Mexico to The Netherlands, from Honduras to South Africa, from Poland to Jamaica, Ireland and beyond.
© Edwin Giesbers
The April edition of FrogLog will focus on The Americas: South, Central and North (including Canada and the Caribbean). Here is your chance to feature some of the work being you are undertaking in this part of the world. We want to give you a chance to let others know what you have been doing, what has been working and what you have achieved.
Over the course of the past four months, we have been working towards becoming one of the largest online platforms to visit for learning about amphibian conservation. One of the ways we hope to achieve this goal is through the development of our blog.
The deadline to submit your articles for this edition is March 1, 2014. Articles should be submitted to cmhansen@amphibians.org. You can read previous editions of FrogLog here. General information for authors submitting to FrogLog can be found here.
We know that there is no greater source of information and inspiring stories than Alliance partners that are actively involved in amphibian conservation on multiple fronts and now we’re inviting you to share your experiences, project updates and knowledge on our blog.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
A new species of toad from Las Tangaras Reserve in the Choco forests of Colombia. © Robin Moore
© Jaime García Moreno
Please contact us to pitch an idea for a blog post or to have yourself or your organization join the blogging team.
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In May of this year, we will also be publishing another special edition of FrogLog: FrogLog Jr. As we work to engage and support the next generation of amphibian conservationists, we are thrilled to announce that Avalon Theissen, the founder of Amphibian Survival Alliance partner organization Conserve It Forward, will be joining the FrogLog team as Guest Editor.
Communication and education are both key to grow and sustain support for amphibian conservation. Two of the immediate priority actions that were identified by the ASG’s Communications and Education Working Group include: •
Increasing awareness, knowledge, and access to resources and media about the ecological and cultural value of amphibians and their habitats; and
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Sharing uplifting stories and successes that generate enthusiasm and provide inspiration for successfully sustaining amphibian conservation efforts.
Masked Treefrog, Smilisca phaeota, from Las Tangaras Reserve in the Choco of Colombia. © Robin Moore
Together with partners, the ASA is continuing to develop and push forward a series of campaigns that are addressing these priority actions. If you would like to get involved with any of these campaigns please contact us.
The world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation
The Partners The following organizations are recognized for their ongoing commitment to amphibian conservation:
Synchroncity Earth
Center for Biological Diversity
Natura Servis
Chester Zoo
TSTP.tv
Red Anfibios Chiapas
Faunam
Conserve It Forward
SEMAHN Chiapas
Swedish Association of Zoos SDF
A-Team for Wildlife
Societas Herpetologica Europaea
ZSL
Honduran Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center
SRARNZ
Global Wildlife Conservation Detroit Zoo University of Otago IUCN SSC CBSG Rainforest Trust WAZA Amphibian Specialist Group 1% for the planet Friends of Target 12 Terraviva Grants Directory Rainforest Alliance Amphibian Ark AmphibiaWeb Anima Mundi The Biodiversity Group
The Wandering Herpetologist Save The Salamanders
SSAR Univ. Politecnica Chiapas Zoos Victoria
Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy CONABIO
Nordens Ark Frankfurt Zoo
Hamilton Zoo
UNICACH
Herpetological League
EWT
RAVON
Durrell
Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust ASIH
Reptile and Amphibian Program Sierra Leone
AZE
Save The Frogs-Ghana
Bristol Zoo Gardens
Herp-Ghana
Burgers’ Zoo
Meet Your Neighbours
EAZA
Reptilicious
ECOSUR
Herpin Time Radio
Mpio. Berriozábal
Potmarge Amphibian Connectivity Project
Mpio. San Cristóbal
Masked Treefrog, Smilisca phaeota, from the Choco forests of Colombia. © Robin Moore
Join the Alliance If your organization or institution is interested in joining the Amphibian Survival Alliance please contact us for further details. As an ASA partner you will not only demonstrate your dedication to stopping this severe extinction crisis, but also provide the much needed support to drive this initiative forward and on to success. Your support will demonstrate that inaction and indifference to this crisis are unacceptable and that we must work together to restore populations of all threatened native amphibian species within natural ecosystems worldwide. www.amphibians.org