Issue 114 (April 2015) ISSN: 1026-0269 eISSN: 1817-3934 Volume 23, number 2 www.amphibians.orgFrogLog Promoting Conservation, Research and Education for the World’s Amphibians REGIONAL EDITION: THE AMERICAS In Memoriam: César Ramón Molina Rodriguez Half a Million Dollars Directed Towards Saving Amphibians Around the World Shape-Shifting “Punk Rocker” Frog Discovered Environmental DNA and Amphibian Monitoring Recent Publications And Much More! Diasporus aff. diastema. Photo: Twan Leenders. FrogLog 23 (2), Number 114 (April 2015) | 1 FrogLog CONTENTS 3 Editorial NEWS FROM THE ASA & ASG 4 Success! Half a Million Dollars Directed Towards Saving 9 Meet Amphibian Hero CREA Amphibians Around the World 11 “Red Listing” to Help Save Southeast Asia’s Amphibians 5 Updating the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan 13 Building Partnerships for Amphibian Conservation: (ACAP): Towards a Living Road Map Peru’s Amphibian Specialist Group and Yanachaga- 6 Amphibian Survival Alliance Seed Grant Program: Small Chemillén National Park Investments with Huge Returns 15 Dynamic Biodiversity Assessment: Introduction to the 6 Ecotoxicological Studies as a Tool on Amphibians’ Forum on “Amphibian Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites Disease Risk Assessment in Chiapas and Oaxaca” 8 The use of eDNA to Evaluate and Monitor the Golden Tree Frog (Phytotriades auratus) Population NEWS FROM THE AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITY 20 Protecting Amphibians from Pesticides 24 Chytrid Fungus Found in Madagascar: An Update of 20 The Website for the Admirable Red-Belly Toad is Online Planned Conservation Strategies 21 ACRS 2015: Empowering the Future of Amphibian 26 In Memoriam: César Ramón Molina Rodriguez (1960- Conservation 2015) 23 Complex Bacterial Challenge in Fight against Deadly Amphibian Disease NEWS FROM THE AMERICAS 30 Shape-Shifting “Punk Rocker” Frog Discovered in Cloud 52 Aerial Dispersal of Amphibian Chytrid Fungus: Detection Forest of Ecuador in Rainwater from Honduras 32 Protecting Amphibian Habitats Now: A Canadian 54 Recent Progress for the Honduras Amphibian Rescue International Conservation Organization Weighs In and Conservation Center (HARCC) 35 Amphibian Conservation in “The Great White North:” 56 I Colloquium about Amphibian Research and Working Towards Evidence-Based Best Practices Conservation in Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa 37 Vancouver Aquarium Breeds Tadpoles of Endangered Rica Oregon Spotted Frog and Finds Juveniles Surviving in 57 Amphibian Ark Announces Seventh Annual Call for the Wild Proposals for its Seed Grant Program 39 City Closes Road to Protect Endangered Jefferson 60 New Rescue Lab for Endangered Amphibians Opens in Salamander Panama 40 Winter Salamandering: The Eastern Newt 61 Life in the Time of Bd: Long-Term Monitoring of Wild 41 Amphibians Get Life-Saving Protections under the Atelopus in Eastern Panama Endangered Species Act 66 Unexpected Results in Probiotics Study Leads to new 43 Environmental DNA and Amphibian Monitoring: Insights Questions for Scientists Seeking to Protect Golden Frogs from the Eastern Hellbender 67 First Isolation of Chytrid from French Guiana 46 Adopt-A-Stream: Citizens Undertake Amphibian 69 Amazon Survey Finds Potentially New Frog Species Conservation Efforts in the Southeastern United States 50 Competitive Eaters: The Influence of Density on Cannibalism among Wood Frog Tadpoles Recent Publications 70 | Events 77 | Internships & Employment 77 | Funding Opportunities 77 | Author Instructions 80 2 | FrogLog 23 (2), Number 114 (April 2015) Editorial FrogLog ASG Secretariat Dear FrogLoggers, Phillip J. Bishop hen writing the editorials for FrogLog, I often try to find a unifying theme ASG Co-Chair underpinning each edition. And as I read through the articles for this edi- Ariadne Angulo W tion, it quickly became apparent to me that it is more than simply a regional edition focused on the Americas; it is an issue about progress. ASG Co-Chair At the end of 2013, the Amphibian Survival Alliance gave out its first grant. Since then, the Alliance has directed more than $500,000 to global amphibian conservation efforts worldwide, Sally Wren thanks to the support of Alliance Partners and readers like you. But the news gets even better. ASG Program Officer The Alliance is now on track to investing close to $1,000,000.00 to amphibian conservation, re- search and education projects around the world by June of this year. Jos Kielgast Now that’s progress! ASG Program Officer As many of you will recall, in mid-2013, the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, in part- nership with the Alliance, formed 12 thematic working groups with the objective of review- Helen Meredith ing the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP), which was originally published in 2007. ASG Program Officer These working groups were asked to develop a clear strategy addressing today’s conservation challenges worldwide. The first revision to ACAP has now been completed and isavailable on Leida Dos Santos our website, where it will be regularly re-assessed and updated, making it a truly living docu- ASG Program Officer ment. Now that’s progress! Jennifer Luedtke Still not impressed? I guarantee you will be when you discover the many other exciting signs of progress throughout the pages of this edition. From multidisciplinary thinking and solutions, Amphibian RLA Coordinator to harnessing the power of partnerships and the fostering of new areas of research, this edition has it all. FrogLog Editorial Committee From the Great White North of Canada to the southernmost tip of South America, we’re see- ing on-the-ground conservation successes and promising approaches that address the most Candace M. Hansen-Hendrikx pressing conservation issues amphibians face today. Editor-in-Chief Now that’s progress! Craig Hassapakis Candace M. Hansen-Hendrikx Editor Lindsay Renick Mayer Editor-in-Chief Editor Laurence Jarvis Editor FrogLog Editorial Board Phillip J. Bishop Don Church Ariadne Angulo James P. Lewis Candace M. Hansen-Hendrikx Photo: Robin Moore. Editorial Office Please consider the environment before Global Wildlife Conservation printing this publication. PO Box 129, Austin, TX 78767, USA Reduce, reuse, recycle. [email protected] FrogLog 23 (2), Number 114 (April 2015) | 3 NEWS FROM THE ASA AND ASG Photo: Robin Moore. Success! Half a Million Dollars Directed Towards Saving Amphibians Around the World By James P. Lewis & Candace M. Hansen-Hendrikx ow that is progress! At the end of 2013, we gave out our protect the cloud forest home of several salamanders and frogs very first grant. Since then we have supported 24 projects found nowhere else in the world. N around the world, helping to direct a total of $551,586.99 to By June we want to hit the $1,000,000.00 mark. By the end of this global amphibian conservation efforts. year we want to have invested $2,000,000.00 in amphibian conser- This incredible achievement was made possible thanks to the vation, research and education projects around the world. support of Alliance Partners such as Global Wildlife Conservation, Over 100 Alliance Partners are coming together to say, “Now is Rainforest Trust, Detroit Zoo, Synchronicity Earth, Andrew Sabin the time for action.” Family Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada Now is the time for you to join us in making the future even and The British Herpetological Society and because of dedicated brighter for the millions of amphibians that share this planet with individuals like you. Together we’re making a difference. us by visiting www.amphibians.org to learn more about our work This has been a great start, and provides a solid foundation on and how you can get involved. which to start taking even bigger steps to protect the amphibians we all love. There are still more habitats to protect and more am- phibians to be safeguarded against deadly infectious diseases. For instance, we are actively raising support for a new 2,000 acre reserve in the remote Cuchumatanes mountains of Guatemala to 4 | FrogLog 23 (2), Number 114 (April 2015) Updating the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP): Towards a Living Road Map By Sally Wren, Ariadne Angulo, Helen Meredith, Jos Kielgast, Leida Dos Santos & Phil Bishop n mid-2013 the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG), in partnership with the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA), I began the process of establishing 12 thematic working groups comprising ASG members with interest and expertise on specific topics relevant to global amphibian conservation. The objective of the working groups is to review the Amphibian Conservation Ac- tion Plan (ACAP), published in 2007, and develop a clear strategy to address amphibian conservation challenges worldwide, as well as support its implementation. The immediate aim of each working group has been to develop Nyctanolis pernix. Photo: Robin Moore. priorities for conservation action, building on the relevant section of the ACAP. Groups were asked to identify the major constraints to achieving conservation success within their subject area, and then to identify specific actions that would contribute to overcoming most needed (both geographically and skills-based); and the iden- these challenges. tification of suitable funding mechanisms, especially for long-term The first revision to ACAP has now been completed, with each projects. Furthermore, there are also several cases where groups working group having identified short- and medium-term ac- identified a link between their priorities and those of other groups, tions (short-term actions should be achievable in 6–12 months,