Magazine of the North Carolina Zoological Society THE ISSUE... Spring 2008 Issue No.52 SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS DAVID K. ROBB Nature doesn’t always play nice. Chair Charlotte few deaths here, an extinction But, scribble down enough zeros to repre- MARY F. FLANAGAN Vice Chair there—they are all natural. Kick sent 440,000,000 years and the statistic Chapel Hill Ain some tsunamis, Mad Cows, gains perspective—no more shocking than GEORGE McCANLESS volcanic eruptions, Ebola viruses, earth- learning that 99 percent of one’s ancestors Treasurer Raleigh quakes—and it’s all still natural—disas- are dead. Species, like individuals, are HUGH “CRAE” MORTON III trous, maybe, but natural all the same. finite. Life on Earth has persisted long Secretary Even the fury of mass extinctions falls enough for the vast majority of both to Linville within the natural realm. Five times, now, have passed on. ALBERT L. BUTLER III Winston-Salem nature has plowed through life on Earth, While extinction and death are EMERSON F. GOWER, JR. killing most of it outright and leaving the inevitable, we are not obligated to wel- Florence, SC rest reeling for millions of years. Her come either. As even a natural death can LYNNE YATES GRAHAM biggest tantrums mark the end of various wreak havoc on a family, the sudden and Advance premature extinction of a species—or, EARL JOHNSON, JR. geological periods: Raleigh even worse, many species—rips through ADDIE LUTHER The Ordovician (439 millions years the biological communities where these Asheboro ago), check, 85 percent of marine species live and work. Millions of years MARK K. METZ species extinct; Charlotte will pass before the services these species MOLLY MILLIS-HEDGECOCK The Devonian (364 m.y.a.), check, 83 provided are fully restored. High Point percent of marine species extinct; When scientists warn that collapsing MARY NORRIS PREYER OGLESBY amphibian populations may signal the Chapel Hill The Permian (390 m.y.a.) , big check, start of a sixth great extinction, we would NANCY PROIA 95 percent of marine species and 70 be wise to listen. We need to realize that Durham percent of terrestrial species extinct; MEHRAN RAVANPAY human-induced changes that harm amphi- Winston-Salem The Triassic (199 m.y.a.) check, 80 bians do more than rob us of their com- SCOTT E. REED percent of marine species extinct; Winston-Salem pany and services. Degrading air, water LIZ D. TAFT The Cretaceous (65 m.y.a.), check, 76 and land will eventually harm us, too. Greenville percent of marine species extinct— This issue of Alive explains some of the R. SEAN TRAUSCHKE along with the dinosaurs. ways that the N.C. Zoo will be working to Charlotte right some of the wrongs that threaten so LAURA H. VIRKLER Hillsborough Add these massive losses to the steady many of our fellow species. We hope SYDNOR M. “MONTY” WHITE, JR. trickle of extinctions that overtake species these stories inspire you to become part of Raleigh as their habitats slowly change and the this effort, too. We know that by working RUSSELL H. WILLIAMS together we can preserve nature at her Executive Director ratio of the lost to the living stands at 99 Assistant Secretary to 1. best and give our children the values they EDITORIAL BOARD Robbed of the context of geological need to grow up healthy and wise in her time, that comparison seems staggering. company. JAYNE OWEN PARKER, PH.D., EDITOR Jayne Owen Parker, Ph.D., Editor De Potter, Design & Layout Randy Fulk, Ph.D. Stephanie Gee John D. Groves The North Carolina Zoo is open every day of the year, except on Christmas Day. Summer hours begin on April 1 and extend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Standard admission Rod Hackney prices are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. Winter hours begin Printed on recycled paper Dr. David Jones November 1 and extend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Zoo Society members and registered Michael Loomis, DVM North Carolina school groups are admitted free. The Zoo offers free parking, free tram Mike McClanahan and shuttle service, picnic areas, visitor rest areas, food service and gift shops. Your ALIVE magazine can be recycled in any recycling Hayley McWilliams For information, call 1-800-488-0444. program that takes maga- Ken Reininger zines. To locate the closest Cheryl Turner The Zoo is a program of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. magazine recycling area in The North Carolina Zoological Society is the non-profit organization that supports the Diane Villa your city, call “Solid Waste North Carolina Zoological Park. Society offices are open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 Management” or “Recycling” Russ Williams p.m. For information, please call 336-879-7250 or logon to the Society’s Web page at under the City or County list- Gloria Moore, Proofreader nczoo.com. ings of your phone book. Printed by Piedmont Printing TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 Year of the Frog Of frogs and toads and our links to their survival . John D. Groves, Contributing Editor 8 Field Notes: Moths: Butterflies of the Night Families that fly with the Moon . John D. Groves, Contributing Editor 11 Adoption Gifts for Mom and Dad Honor your parents and help your Zoo at the same time. Dr. David M. Jones Russell H.Williams 12 Growing up Morphed Director Executive Director Molding frogs and other metamorphs . John D. Groves, Contributing Editor N.C. Zoo N.C. Zoo Society 15 Wake Up with the Animals 16 Kids Alive: ZooSpace Visit Blue and Goldie’s MySpace pages BC WWF Dignitary to Open Watani Grasslands Dr. Martin Tchamba to speak at opening ceremonies REGULAR FEATURES 10 Travel Programs 14 Zoo Happenings 14 Thank Yous 15 Passing the Buck 15 Russlings 15 ON THE COVER: Green Treefrogs 2 Hyla cinerea by J.D. Willson Where is Sherlock Holmes When You Need Him? deadly mystery has grabbed the attention of Say, What? scientists from around the world. Today, at least one-third of the world’s 6,000 amphib- Everywhere they turn, habitats appear ian species are in free fall, their populations top- with missing pieces. Not just single pieces, but pling one by one. Some of these species are wholeYearof Yearofclusters of some of nature’s oldest and theFrog theFrogprobably already extinct; others are march- most reliable members have vanished with- ing toward extinction an acre at a time. out a trace. Some have disappeared from Endless questions cascade from their places where they—and their ancestors— losses. What is causing these declines Ahave lived since before the reign of the and extinctions? Can spring survive if dinosaurs. These ancient beasts—frogs, frogs no longer chorus? How will peo- toads and salamanders—are dying all ple and the rest of nature adjust to the around the world. What’s the Problem? Red-Eyed Treefrog (Agalychnis calidryas) Scientists first noticed these disappearances in the 1980s, when groups of well-studied losses? Will these declines mushroom into and familiar frogs and toads—as well as rare a sixth mass extinction, one that rivals the and newly discovered species—hopped safely catastrophe that took down the dinosaurs? through one year, only to vanish the next. At first, these Over the years, escalating extinction rates have disappearances were spotty and mysterious. They grabbed pushed scientists from a state of mild concern to one of full- the rare as often as the ordinary and took the biologically blown alarm. Their early impressions of spotty, isolated strange as frequently as the medically promising. extinctions are now eclipsed by growing reports of amphib- The brilliant and abundant Golden Toad: Once, they glistened in abundance from branches throughout Costa Rica’s pristine High Cloud Forests. In only a few years, all but a few were gone. The rare and remarkable Gastric Brooding Frog: For eons, this species burped its froglets into Australia’s wilderness after months of fasting while eggs and tadpoles developed safely in its stomach. The list goes on: Tiny, jewel-like treefrogs from Central and South America; massive, throaty frogs from Africa and Madagascar. Year after year, country after country, continent after continent—the names of extinct species of frogs and toads pile higher and higher. Over the past few decades, more than 120 species of frogs ian disappearances all around the world. And, still, no one leaped from the realm of the living into the abyss of extinc- knows why. tion. And, they were not alone. Other, lesser known amphib- The reports trigger as many questions as answers. No ians—salamanders and caecilians (rare and wonderful smoking gun points to a single cause. No theory explains worm-shaped creatures that we have just begun to know)— why one population falls while its neighbors survive. Until showed similar declines and extinction rates. we solve these mysteries, we cannot stop the crises. 2 | ALIVE How Come? Instead of hanging the crisis on a single killer, scientists are finding legions of causes. Outright habitat destruction and alteration tops the list of usual suspects—along with chang- ing climates, rising pollution, over-hunting, over-collecting, alien species and, more recently, emerging diseases. Unfortunately, these ills cannot be addressed in isolation. Every problem extends its effects to other species, too, espe- cially as habitats decline. Coral reefs are in trouble, as are a host of mussel, fish, bird and reptile species. The losses are astounding and, yet, remain nearly invisible to most of the human race. While monitoring global wildlife populations between 1970 and 2000, the World Wildlife Fund watched the wild populations of 200 species of freshwater vertebrates (includ- ing amphibians) drop by 50 percent or more.