What looks at first to be a slimy mess in a Petri dish represents a highly-significant advance in conservation and restoration ecology. Ecologists are celebrating the arrival of the first Maud Island frogs (Leiopelma pakeka) to hatch on mainland New Zealand for many years. No larger than a human adult's little fingernail, the Maud Island froglets differ from most frog species in that they hatch from the egg as fully-formed froglets without going through the usual tadpole stage.

Read Complete Article ...


Use this thread to discuss the article above. What are your thoughts about Rare Maud Island Frogs Hatched In New Zealand?

__________________
.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

It's nice to read about a program that is proving successful. As I was reading this article, and came across the line above, I was mortified. I had no idea that so many species of frog become extinct annually.

I also like how the Maud Island frogs go against the basic charecteristic of what defines an amphibian. Hatching as an adult, while skipping the tadpole stage completely, is very unique.

__________________
.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

I don't know how things are in the U.S. for animal conservation but in Canada it is severely lacking. I applaud countries like New Zealand that are willing to fund research into this. Frogs seem to be the first to go when sensitive areas are invaded. I had no idea either that so many are disappearing. But I guess if you figure even one species per country per year it makes sense.

__________________
Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Frogs are ideal indicators when something is wrong with the environment. If there is an abundance of toxins in area where frogs are plentiful, they will begin to leave or die. Since frogs absorb through their skin, they are very sensitive to their environment.

One of our members, Heather, had written a paper on some findings she had come across that tied directly in with this. There was an abundance of mutated frogs.Unless I am mistaken, some had extra limbs and other deformities. I wish I recalled the findings or where this page was located, but both elude me.

__________________
.:: Rich ::.

+ Spread The Info

Conservation here is "ok" but not as good as it is in some places. Its very nice to see that there are places that are working so hard to save their native species.

I love the pic of the frog walking towards the camera.

I also wonder how big this enclosure they made was. It can't be too big or too "open" if they are able to make it mouse free.

I am also wondering why they released half the frogs they had in the sanctuary. I know it says that they want to be able to compare the captive and non captive frogs, but aren't there already some non captive frogs out in the wild? And at the end of the article it makes it appear that they aren't going to be able to track them.

__________________

Thats so awesome, Im glad they are able to help these little guys. They are pretty neat and unique

It's nice to see people in conservation efforts of a species of frog which is not "famous" or commonly known.

I like the idea of the breeding project, and I hope they have good results.

I wish more countries would take the ecosphere more seriously.

Rich, is Heather's paper available to read anywhere?

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

That occurs worldwide, but the US had/has some severe outbreaks of it, especially in localized areas. If I remember correctly, the mutations were caused by pesticide contamination, which weakened the frogs' immune systems and made them more susceptible to a type of flatworm infection. I don't recall how exactly the flatworms caused mutation though. Something that had to do with them affecting the frog's development from the tadpole state. Studies in the US were especially conducted in Minnesota....if I'm not mistaken, where there was a relatively high percentage of the mutants.

It's pretty sad how many species do go extinct each year. It's a much greater number than most realize. Frogs, beetles, and I think birds are the hardest animals hit so far. A lot of the extinctions come from areas in South America being deforested. Some species have very small ranges that wind up being completely destroyed. That's pretty cool what they're doing with the Maud Island frogs though.

I didn't find Heather's article, but through some searching I did find this article, which is about Heather, her article, and the frogs:
FROGS.ORG: News

__________________
+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Very cool and really interesting how she went about that. Scary for that community, though.

I wish I could read the actual article. Sounds very informative.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.