July 2011 Vol. 97 www.amphibians.orgFrogLogNews from the herpetological community Regional Focus Sub-Saharan Africa Regional updates and latests research. INSIDE News from the ASG Regional Updates Global Focus Leptopelis barbouri Recent Publications photo taken at Udzungwa Mountains, General Announcements Tanzania photographer: Michele Menegon And More..... Another “Lost Frog” Found. ASA Ansonia latidisca found The Amphibian Survival Alliance is launched in Borneo FrogLog Vol. 97 | July 2011 | 1 FrogLog CONTENTS 3 Editorial NEWS FROM THE ASG 4 The Amphibian Survival Alliance 6 Lost Frog found! 4 ASG International Seed Grant Winners 2011 8 Five Years of Habitat Protection for Amphibians REGIONAL UPDATE 10 News from Regional Groups 23 Re-Visiting the Frogs and Toads of 34 Overview of the implementation of 15 Kihansi Spray Toad Re- Zimbabwe Sahonagasy Action plan introduction Guidelines 24 Amatola Toad AWOL: Thirteen 35 Species Conservation Strategy for 15 Biogeography of West African years of futile searches the Golden Mantella amphibian assemblages 25 Atypical breeding patterns 36 Ankaratra massif 16 The green heart of Africa is a blind observed in the Okavango Delta 38 Brief note on the most threatened spot in herpetology 26 Eight years of Giant Bullfrog Amphibian species from Madagascar 17 Amphibians as indicators for research revealed 39 Fohisokina project: the restoration of degraded tropical 28 Struggling against domestic Implementation of Mantella cowani forests exotics at the southern end of Africa action plan 18 Life-bearing toads on amisty 31 Monitoring of the endangered mountain Hewitt’s ghost frog 20 Unravelling the mysteries of Lake 31 Frog Monitoring in the Western Oku, where the frog is “Fon” (king) Cape 23 Adaptation or extinction – 33 Madagascar and Chytrid news anurans along altitudinal and 34 Association Mitsinjo: Captive degradation gradients in southwestern breeding program Cameroon GLOBAL NEWS 40 Discovering Ecuador’s five- 45 Costal sand-dune habitats, 51 Planning Amphibian Conservation hundredth Amphibian frog-bromeliad relationship and in Mexico 43 Abc Taxa as a highway to the conservation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 53 ARMI (Amphibian Research and build-up of taxonomic capacity 47 Invasive plants and amphibians: a Monitoring Initiative): Founded 44 Cheery, the true adventures of a cryptic connection Locally; Engaging Globally Chiricahua Leopard frog 48 Global Amphibian BioBlitz Recent Publications 54 | Meetings 68 |Internships & Jobs 68 Funding Opportunities 70 | Author Instructions 72 2 | FrogLog Vol. 97 | July 2011 Editorial FrogLog ub-Sahara Africa is a focus for this issue of Froglog. In April I had a chance to visit Tanzania to meet with members of Conservation SInternational’s Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network from across the world. In particular, there were African site managers ASG & EDITORIAL COMMITTEE from Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. It was a privilege to be with researchers and conservation area managers who invest time and energy every day to James P. Collins gather the information needed to manage wisely Africa’s natural resources. Coincidentally, the 12 July 2011 issue of Nature also highlights Africa, where so much of the continent’s biology is still waiting to be discovered. I ASG Co-Chair hope that you will enjoy all of the stories and reports in this Froglog issue, but in particular those from our colleagues in Africa. A report on the 2011 Sabin Award honorees is an especially bright spot in this issue. Alonso Quevedo and Jonh Jairo Mueses Cisneros have invested time Claude Gascon and energy to advance amphibian research and conservation in Colombia. Their pioneering work bridges the gap between science and conservation with ASG Co-Chair the aim of protecting some of the most threatened species and habitats in the world. There is a lot that we can all learn from the deep commitment that these two investigators have made to understand the causes of global amphibian decline and extinction while also helping to conserve the most endangered species. Robin D. Moore Finally, here are a few thoughts on Froglog itself. Froglog began as the newsletter of the Declining Amphibians Population Task Force (DAPTF). ASG Program Officer The newsletter was started by DAPTF’s Board of Directors to keep our community informed regarding the most recent work on amphibian research and conservation. The goal was not to be another peer-reviewed publication. The current editorial group endorses this mission. We are interested in news, views, reports, and any other messages you feel will foster amphibian research, James P. Lewis conservation, outreach, and the ASG network. We feel that this particular issue of Froglog begins to strike the balance we want of some international/ general articles with most focusing on the work of regional groups. While we ASG Program Coordinator edit submissions for content and presentation, we do not submit them to the rigorous peer review typical of our best scientific publications. Froglog is your newsletter, so please send us your articles and your ideas for stories, reports, or news items that you would like to see covered in future editions. James P. Collins ASG Co-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. 97 | July 2011 | 3 ASG Updates The Amphibian Survival Alliance By Jaime Garcia-Moreno and Phil Bishop. he Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) is a new initiative set-up by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to coordinate and magnify conservation T In 2009, a coalition of organisations agreed to set up an efforts to stop and reverse the ongoing crisis of global amphibian declines. inter-institutional Amphibian Survival Alliance to oversee the implementation of ACAP – focusing initially on The first release of the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) habitat destruction and climate change, the fungal disease in late 2004 led to an immediate response by the conservation chytridiomycosis, and over-harvesting. This is expected to community. By September 2005 the IUCN-SSC and Conservation promote synergies and facilitate communications both within the International had convened an Amphibian Conservation Summit amphibian community and with all the relevant stakeholders. to determine the best way forward. Two main results of the IUCN has recently appointed Dr. Jaime García-Moreno M and Summit were (i) the creation of the Amphibian Specialist Group Dr. Phil Bishop to serve, respectively, as Executive Director and of the IUCN-SSC (www.amphibians.org) and (ii) the publication Chief Scientist of the Amphibian Survival Alliance. They will of a well-formulated Amphibian Conservation Action Plan in oversee the formation and coordination of a global network of 2007 (ACAP, http://www.amphibians.org/ASG/Publications), partner organizations to facilitate implementation of research, which outlines the steps needed to understand, halt, and control conservation and assessment programs as outlined in the ACAP. this crisis. The ACAP, which has a 5-year price tag of over US$ 400 million, highlights eleven thematic areas relevant to The ASA is supported by and will be working in collaboration amphibian conservation and provides guidance for implementing with organizations such as Conservation International, the conservation actions and research initiatives at all scales, from Zoological Society of London, the Detroit Zoological Society, local to global. Unfortunately, in spite of such an excellent road the North of England Zoological Society, Wildlife Conservation map, progress has been slow and intermittent, and a shortage Society and Frankfurt Zoo, as well as related initiatives such as of funds dedicated to amphibian conservation has made the the Amphibian Ark and the Amphibian Specialists Group. Jaime implementation of the ACAP extremely difficult. However, Garcia-Moreno will work from his office at EAZA (European progress has been made to some extent for both in situ and ex Association of Zoos and Aquaria) and is based in the Netherlands, situ conservation by the Amphibian Specialist Group and the closely collaborating with the Zoological Society of London and Amphibian Ark respectively. Meanwhile, between the first GAA in other partners of the Alliance. Phil Bishop will remain based at 2004 and the most recent update, the number of species thought the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. To contact to be extinct increased from 122 to 168, the number of declining them directly please email them at the following addresses: Jaime. populations continues to increase and the threats to habitats [email protected] and [email protected]. preferred by amphibians continue unabated. ASG International Seed Grant Award Winners 2011 We are pleased to announce the first round of recipients of the continents on which amphibians occur. A thread running through 2011 ASG International Seed Grants. The Seed Grant program, the recipients of this round of Seed Grants is bridging the gap founded by the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force, between research and conservation. As amphibians continue to continues to be a hugely popular mechanism for kick-starting decline and go extinct it is important that we apply our knowledge research and conservation programs that often develop into larger to their protection, and it is hugely