Maritime Southeast Asia and Oceania Regional Focus
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November 2011 Vol. 99 www.amphibians.orgFrogLogNews from the herpetological community Regional Focus Maritime Southeast Asia and Oceania INSIDE News from the ASG Regional Updates Global Focus Recent Publications General Announcements And More..... Spotted Treefrog Nyctixalus pictus. Photo: Leong Tzi Ming New The 2012 Sabin Members’ Award for Amphibian Conservation is now Bulletin open for nomination Board FrogLog Vol. 99 | November 2011 | 1 Follow the ASG on facebook www.facebook.com/amphibiansdotor2 | FrogLog Vol. 99| November 2011 g $PSKLELDQ$UN FDOHQGDUVDUHQRZDYDLODEOH 7KHWZHOYHVSHFWDFXODUZLQQLQJSKRWRVIURP $PSKLELDQ$UN¶VLQWHUQDWLRQDODPSKLELDQ SKRWRJUDSK\FRPSHWLWLRQKDYHEHHQLQFOXGHGLQ $PSKLELDQ$UN¶VEHDXWLIXOZDOOFDOHQGDU7KH FDOHQGDUVDUHQRZDYDLODEOHIRUVDOHDQGSURFHHGV DPSKLELDQDUN IURPVDOHVZLOOJRWRZDUGVVDYLQJWKUHDWHQHG :DOOFDOHQGDU DPSKLELDQVSHFLHV 3ULFLQJIRUFDOHQGDUVYDULHVGHSHQGLQJRQ WKHQXPEHURIFDOHQGDUVRUGHUHG±WKHPRUH \RXRUGHUWKHPRUH\RXVDYH2UGHUVRI FDOHQGDUVDUHSULFHGDW86HDFKRUGHUV RIEHWZHHQFDOHQGDUVGURSWKHSULFHWR 86HDFKDQGRUGHUVRIDUHSULFHGDW MXVW86HDFK 7KHVHSULFHVGRQRWLQFOXGH VKLSSLQJ $VZHOODVRUGHULQJFDOHQGDUVIRU\RXUVHOIIULHQGV DQGIDPLO\ZK\QRWSXUFKDVHVRPHFDOHQGDUV IRUUHVDOHWKURXJK\RXU UHWDLORXWOHWVRUIRUJLIWV IRUVWDIIVSRQVRUVRUIRU IXQGUDLVLQJHYHQWV" 2UGHU\RXUFDOHQGDUVIURPRXUZHEVLWH ZZZDPSKLELDQDUNRUJFDOHQGDURUGHUIRUP 5HPHPEHU±DVZHOODVKDYLQJDVSHFWDFXODUFDOHQGDU WRNHHSWUDFNRIDOO\RXULPSRUWDQWGDWHV\RX¶OODOVREH GLUHFWO\KHOSLQJWRVDYHDPSKLELDQVDVDOOSUR¿WVZLOOEH XVHGWRVXSSRUWDPSKLELDQFRQVHUYDWLRQSURMHFWV ZZZDPSKLELDQDUNRUJ FrogLog Vol. 99 | November 2011 | 3 FrogLog CONTENTS 5 Editorial NEWS FROM THE ASG 6 ASG Updates 12 Members’ Bulletin Board 8 Mount Tompotika 13 The Sabin Award 10 The Living Planet Index 15 Global Amphibian BioBlitz Update REGIONAL UPDATE 16 Regional Updates 32 Auckland Zoo - Captive 39 ‘State of the nation’ report on 24 NSW Declining Frog Working Breeding New Zealand translocations Group 33 Auckland Zoo - Frog Diseases including a quick overview of past translocations 25 Development and application 34 Hamilton Zoo 40 Long term population of Assisted Reproductive 34 Massey University (Albany) Technologies (ART) for the monitoring of the Maud Island conservation of Australian 35 Landcare Research (Auckland) frog and Archey’s frog, Victoria University of Wellington anurans 36 DNA Detects Frog Predation, 26 Green and Golden Bell Frog University of Otago 41 Brief Encounters with Archey’s Frog Research at the University of 37 Just juice? Attempting to Newcastle unravel the secrets of skin 44 New Beginnings — A First 28 Zoos Victoria supporting secretions in New Zealand’s Report on Frog Research in conservation of threatened endemic frogs Timor-Leste native Australian frogs 38 Susceptibility to 30 Biology and conservation of chytridiomycosis Fiji’s iconic native amphibians GLOBAL NEWS 46 SAVE THE FROGS! 47 The beginning of a career and Ghana Powering Africa’s the value of mentoring young Environmental Revolution scientists Recent Publications 49 | Meetings 64 | Internships & Jobs 65 Funding Opportunities 66 | Author Instructions 68 4 | FrogLog Vol. 99| November 2011 Editorial FrogLog am delighted to be invited to write the editorial for this Maritime Southeast Asia and Oceania edition of FrogLog. The new format of FrogLog has stimulated a Irenewed interest in amphibian conservation and vote of thanks is due to James ASG & EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Lewis (ASG Program Coordinator) for producing such a professional and informative ‘Newsletter’. James P. Collins The Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) is starting to take shape with the appointment of Jaime Garcia Moreno as the Executive Director and myself as the Chief Scientist. ASG Co-Chair The ASA is the umbrella organization formed to oversee the implementation of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan at a global level. We are working very closely with many other institutions involved in amphibian conservation, such as the Amphibian Ark, and to cement the ties with the Amphibian Specialist Group I have been appointed as the Deputy Chair of the ASG. (For more information on ASA please see FrogLog 97). Claude Gascon This edition has a regional focus on Maritime Southeast Asia and Oceania and as I ASG Co-Chair am based in New Zealand, I have been fortunate enough to have worked on frogs in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Melanesia. This is a very exciting part of the world to explore from an amphibian perspective. The region contains 1047 species of amphibians (1028 anurans and 19 caecilians) of which 24 are Critically Endangered, 53 are Endangered, 102 are Vulnerable and more importantly 285 are Data Deficient Phillip J. Bishop (according to AmphibiaWeb 2011 – special thanks to Kellie Whitaker for providing this data). I would like to propose a challenge for all local and visiting herpetologists that by ASG Deputy Chair the time its our turn again to report to Froglog on the amphibians of this region that we have significantly reduced the number of data deficient species. Some of the many highlights in this edition include the renewed interest in Philippine herpetological research, the rediscovery of a population of the highland bell frog Robin D. Moore (Litoria castanea) in Australia, and the discovery that the lungless frog (Barbourula kalimantanensis) is not as rare as we previously thought. In New Zealand as all the indigenous frogs seem to be able to cure themselves of chytridiomycosis in the lab, ASG Program Officer we have recently been focusing on ex situ interventions, introduced pest control and habitat protection. We have downscaled the ACAP to a local plan and this should hopefully be published by the end of the year. Finally I would like to thank the many contributors to this edition and again to James James P. Lewis Lewis for all his hard work in putting these newsletters together. Phillip J. Bishop ASG Program Coordinator ASG Deputy Chair Editorial Office Conservation International 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202 USA Please consider the enviornment before printing this publication. Reduse, reuse, recycle.FrogLog Vol. 99 | November 2011 | 5 ASG Updates News in Brief Amphibian Specialist Group he IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) is a global network Helping to Protect Amphibians Around the World of dedicated experts who donate their time and expertise to create Ta community from where practical amphibian conservation can be advanced based on a solid foundation of science. The ASG is directly involved in supporting the activities of a number of amphibian conservation projects around the world. Here you can see a few updates from projects we are currently supporting and other news of interest. More information on ASG supported projects and the work of ASG members and partners around the world can be found on our web site at www.amphibians.org. Guatemala In Guatemala, the ASG is helping local NGOs to purchase and protect two areas of Robin Moore / iLCP land important for amphibian conservation. The Motagua Valley consists of 58 Hectares of dry forest to save it from being mined, safeguarding a newly discovered species of salamander that is restricted to this area. The Sierra Caral project is leading to the protection of 2,200 hectares of one of the largest tracts of intact primary cloud forest remaining in Central America. If you are interested in helping support these efforts visit our web site to find out more http://www.amphibians. org/our-work/projects/guatemala/ . South America The 100th edition of FrogLog will be out mid January 2012. The first edition of FrogLog came out in March 1992 and we are still going strong. Robin Moore / iLCP If you have any stories of FrogLogs past that you like to share please drop us a line. The regional focus of the January edition will be South America. If you would like to publicize your amphibian conservation efforts please contact the appropriate regional chair or James Lewis at jplewis@ amphibians.org. 6 | FrogLog Vol. 99| November 2011 Amphibian Specialist Group Helping to Protect Amphibians Around the World Sri Lanka The ASG is actively supporting the development of an amphibian habitat monitoring and habitat restoration program in Morningside, Sri Lanka through a grant part funded by the Save Our Species program. Read more about this incredible region that is currently under threat and the importance of the program in the next edition of FrogLog. Don Church Sulawesi The ASG is s u p p o r t i n g local partner the Alliance Robin Moore / iLCP for Tompotika Conservation, or “AlTo” to establish a new protected area in the heart of Mt. Tompotika, an area that is both one of the most biologically valuable and most immediately threatened areas in the region. Read more about this project on page 8. New Zealand The ASG is pleased to announce that Phillip J. Bishop (ASG Regional Chair for New Zealand) will be taking on a new role as the Deputy Chair of the ASG. Phil is also the Chief Scientist of the Amphibian Survival Alliance and having a role within both groups will help to forge our future partenrship. Also, with the help of New Zealand’s ASG members and others, New Zealand has become one of the first countries to record all of their amphibian species on the Global Amphibian BioBlitz (GAB). Well done New Zealand, we wonder who will be next? Read more about this and other GAB news on page. 15 FrogLog Vol. 99 | November 2011 | 7 Mount Tompotika is a 1,600m forested mountain on the extreme eastern tip of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Considered a sacred place of origin for all three of the ethnic