Asia, Russia and Oceania

Issue number 104 (October 2012) ISSN: 1026-0269 eISSN: 1817-3934

Volume 20, number 5 www.amphibians.orgFrogLogConservation news for the herpetological community Regional Focus Asia, Russia and Oceania

INSIDE News from the ASG

Regional UpdatesAlytes, 2012, 29 (1¢4): 1-144. Recent Publications ISSN 0753-4973 General Announcements Contents Ariadne Angulo & Franco Andreone Bridging the gap between science and policy in amphibian conservation ...... 3-7 Simon N. Stuart And More... Responding to the amphibian crisis: too little, too late? ...... 9-12 Action plans

Claude Gascon, James P. Collins, Don R. Church, Robin D. Moore, Franco Andreone, nternatIonal ournal of atrachology Phil Bishop, Sathyabhama Das Biju, Federico Bolaños,Xie Feng, Li Pipeng, Li Zhang, I J B Haitao Shi, Stefan Lötters, Yolanda Matamoros, MadhavaRhacophorus Meegaskumbura, Sanjay Molur, rhodopus of Hainan Island, a beautiful treeforg from Indochina that Priya Nanjappa Mitchell, José Manuel Mora-Benavides, Jaime Garcia-Moreno, Herilala Randriamahazo, James T. Reardon, César Molina, Santiago Ron,JodiJ.L.Rowley, Débora Silvano, Paula H. Valdujo & Vanessa K. Verdade needs intact rainforest to survive. Photo credit: Bosco Chan@KCC. Scaling a global plan into regional strategies for amphibian conservation ...... 15-27 Vanessa K. Verdade, Paula H. Valdujo, Ana Carolina Carnaval, Luis Schiesari, Luís Felipe Toledo, Tami Mott, Gilda V. Andrade, Paula C. Eterovick, Marcelo Menin, Bruno V. S. Pimenta, Cristiano Nogueira, Cybele S. Lisboa, Cátia D. de Paula & Débora L. Silvano A leap further: the Brazilian Amphibian Conservation Action Plan ...... 28-43 Franco Andreone, Angus I. Carpenter, Jamieson Copsey, Angelica Crottini, Gerardo Garcia, Richard K. B. Jenkins, Jörn Köhler, Nirhy H. C. Rabibisoa, New Partnership Herilala Randriamahazo & Christopher J. Raxworthy Saving the diverse Malagasy amphibian fauna: where are we four years after implementation of the SahonagasyMetamorphosis Action Plan? ...... 44-58 Threat factors between the ASG and Rafael D. Loyola, João Carlos Nabout, Joaquim Trindade-Filho, Priscila Lemes, José Nicolás Urbina-Cardona, Ricardo Dobrovolski, Maíra Dalia Sagnori & José Alexandre F. Diniz-Filho Climate change might drive species into reserves: a case study of the American bullfrog in the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot ...... wins61-74 International Society Gentile Francesco Ficetola, Matteo Elio Siesa, Emilio Padoa-Schioppa & Fiorenza De Bernardi Wetland features, amphibian communities and distribution of the alien crayﬁsh, Procambarus clarkii ...... 75-87 César Aguilar, Rocio Gamarra, César Ramirez, Juana Suarez, Claudia Torres & Karen Siu-Ting for the Study and Anﬁbios andinos y estudios de impactoInternational ambiental en concesiones mineras de Perú ...... 88-102 Helen Gerson International trade in amphibians: a customs perspective ...... 103-115 Points of view Conservation of the Carlos A. Navas, Catherine R. Bevier & Ana CarolinaPhoto Carnaval Award Integrative and objective science is the best link between amphibian decline research and conservation on the ground...... 119-132 FrogLog 20 (5), Number 104 (October 2012) | 1 Michael J. Lannoo A perspective on amphibian conservation in the United States...... 133-144 Amphibians

Alytes is printed on acid-free paper. Alytes is indexed in Biosis, Cambridge Scientiﬁc Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences, Pascal, Referativny Zhurnal and The Zoological Record. Imprimerie Hapax Editore, Italie. Dépôt légal: 3er trimestre 2012. o © ISSCA 2012 July 2012 Volume 29, N 1-4 Detecting the Distribution of the Chytrid Fungus in the Philippines By 1*Mae Lowe L. Diesmos, 2Arvin C. Diesmos, 3Cameron D. Siler, 4*Vance T. Vredenburg, 3Rafe M. Brown

lobally over 30% of the 6,000+ amphibians species are currently threatened with extinction (1). Amphibian biolo- G gists have recorded over 150 species of frogs that have van- ished from many parts of the world particularly in North, Central, and South America, Europe and in Australia. Chytridiomycosis, an emerging infectious disease specific to amphibians and is caused Luzon by the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has been directly associated with these extinction events (2–4). Mass amphibian mortalities were recorded in areas where evidence of high Bd spore counts are known, most especially in closed fresh water ecosystems. Chytridiomycosis is also known to interact with other environmental factors such as habitat destruction and climate change, triggering massive declines of amphibian populations in countries where the pathogenic disease is known (5, 6).

In 2008, we detected the first case ofBd infection in an assemblage Mindanao of frogs at two localities on the island of Luzon: on Mts. Palaypalay- Mataas Na Gulod in Cavite Province and on Mt. Labo in Camarines Norte Province (7). We subsequently found chytrid-positive frog populations from our surveys of other areas across the country (8, 9). Here we summarize information on the status and distribution Fig. 1: The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is now found in at of this emerging infectious disease in the Philippines covering the least 17 localities on three major islands across the Philippines. Thus far, highest period from 2004 to 2011. prevalence of Bd-infection (with over 60% of samples) were detected from two localities. Our sampling sites include natural forested areas (primary and secondary forest from near sea level to over 1,000 m elevation) analyses of additional materials from multiple sampling sites and man-modified environments (second-growth, agricultural across the archipelago. areas, and gardens). During the course of the study, we sampled over 3,000 frogs belonging to at least 30 species via standardized At least seven species of frogs were infected with Bd, these are swabbing protocol (five strokes each on inner thighs of hind legs, Limnonectes macrocephalus (Inger, 1954), L. magnus (Stejneger, on webbing of each foot, and on abdomen). A drop of 95% ethyl 1910), L. woodworthi (Taylor, 1923), Occidozyga laevis (Günther, alcohol was added to each swab, air-dried, and the swabs were 1858), Hylarana grandocula (Taylor, 1920), H. similis (Günther, placed inside individually labeled micro-centrifuge tubes. Samples 1873) and Sanguirana luzonensis (Boulenger, 1896). These species were analyzed using Real-Time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) are associated with aquatic environments and are typically found assay (9, 10). To estimate prevalence and infection intensity, we in clear, fast-flowing mountain streams and rivers (11). Except calculated a measure of the number of Bd zoospores found on each for O. laevis, all of these species are endemic to the Philippines. swab that we refer to as zoospore equivalents. To calculate for prev- None of our samples of alien invasive frog species known from the alence, samples were categorized as Bd-positive when zoospore Philippines (12), such as Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758), Hoplo- equivalents were ≥ 1 and Bd-negative when zoospore equivalents batrachus rugulosus (Wiegmann, 1834) and Hylarana erythraea were < 1 (9). (Schlegel, 1837), were positive for chytrid fungus.

Chytrid fungus in Philippine frogs Infection levels were found to be generally low and ranged from From an initial two localities, we detected Bd-infected frog assem- 3–10% of our samples. However, we detected high levels of infec- blages in 15 other sites on the major islands of Luzon, Negros and tion (> 10%) from two localities, Mts. Palaypalay-Mataas Na Gulod Mindanao. We further expect to find an increasing trend in the on Luzon Island and Cotabato Cordillera in South Cotabato Prov- number of chytrid-positive localities with the completion of our ince on Mindanao Island. This level of infection, based on studies from several regions in Central and South America, is known to result in amphibian declines or the extinction of affected popula- 1 Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science of the University tions (9, 10). of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines. 2 Herpetology Section, Zoology Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines. 3 Natural History Museum and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Research Priorities 4 Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA. Department of Results of our ongoing field surveys demonstrate that Bd is wide- Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA. (Corresponding authors: MLLD = [email protected]; VTV = spread in the Philippines. Thus far, evidence of mass die-offs or [email protected]) local extinction of amphibian populations is yet to be detected. This 48 | FrogLog 20 (5), Number 104 (October 2012) B A

C E D

F G

Fig. 2: Among the species that we found to be infected with Bd include Limnonectes macrocephalus (Fig. 2A), L. magnus (Fig. 2B), L. woodworthi (Fig. 2C), Occidozyga laevis (Fig. 2D) (Dicroglossidae), Hylarana grandocula (Fig. 2E), H. similis, (Fig. 2F) and Sanguirana luzonensis (Fig. 2G) (Ranidae). Nearly all of these species are endemic to the Philippines. Photos: A. C. Diesmos. is an issue that must be considered as top research priority in the Natural Resources) and the National Museum of the Philippines region. Bd has the potential to infect numerous Philippine amphib- furnished research and collecting permits. We are indebted to our ian species and may cause large-scale species extinctions, given the many colleagues and students from the Philippines and the US for high levels of richness and species endemicity among Philippine their invaluable assistance both in the field and in the laboratory. amphibians and the extent to which numerous critical habitats are already being degraded (2, 8, 12). References 1. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1 (IUCN, 2012; www. iucnredlist.org). Based on initial results of our studies, we recommend that: (1) a 2. S. N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J. S. Chanson, N. A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, comprehensive and sustained field surveys be undertaken to cover B. E. Young, Eds., Threatened Amphibians of the World (Lynx Ediciones, Barcelona, Spain, 2008). as many islands and localities as possible and to sample various 3. K. R. Lips et al., Biol. Conserv. 119, 4 (2004). habitats; (2) there is a need to perform ecological experiments that 4. L. F. Skerratt et al., EcoHealth 4, 2 (2007). will examine the effects of Bd on both infected and unexposed spe- 5. K. R. Lips et al., PLoS Biology 6, e72 (2008). cies and assemblages, and (3) a long-term monitoring and research 6. J. A. Pounds et al., Nature 439, doi: 10.1038 (2006). program need to be established, which may prove to be more effec- 7. A. C. Diesmos, M. L. L. Diesmos, R. M. Brown, Philippine Daily Inquirer 14 tive through partnerships among government agencies, research February (2010). 8. A. C. Diesmos, R. M. Brown, in: Proceedings of the Conference “Biology of the and academic institutions and conservation groups. Amphibians in the Sunda Region, Southe-east Asia,” (Univ. of Malaysia Sarawak, Acknowledgements Kota Samarahan, 2011), pp. 26–49. Funding and logistical support were generously provided by the US 9. A. Swei et al., PLoS ONE 6, e23179 (2011). National Science Foundation, National Geographic, University of 10. A. D. Hyatt et al., Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 73, 3 (2007). Kansas, National Museum of the Philippines, University of Santo 11. R. F. Inger, Fieldiana: Zoology 33 (1954). 12. A. C. Diesmos, M. L. Diesmos, R. M. Brown, J. Env. Sci. Management 9, 2 Tomas and San Francisco State University. The Protected Areas (2006). and Wildlife Bureau (Philippine Department of Environment and FrogLog 20 (5), Number 104 (October 2012) | 49