Watch a Daring Mission to Rescue Rare Tree Frogs

Watch a Daring Mission to Rescue Rare Tree Frogs

A conservation project in Honduras battles invasive fungus disease and illegal logging.

By Brian Clark Howard

PUBLISHED September 23, 2016


Several species of tree frog found only in a national park in northern Honduras are in danger of disappearing forever due to an invasive fungus and illegal logging. But an experimental new conservation effort might give the amphibians a leg up.


The high cloud forest of Cusuco National Park harbors rich biodiversity, but that treasure trove of plants and animals is under assault, says Jonathan Kolby, a National Geographic explorer and PhD student in conservation biology at Australia’s James Cook University.


Among the threatened animals are three species of tree frogs, the exquisite spike-thumb frog (Plectrohyla exquisite), the Cusuco spike-thumb frog (Plectrohyla dasypus), and the mossy red-eyed frog (Duellmanohyla soralia). (Read more about these frogs and efforts to save them.)


Kolby and colleagues are in the process of setting up a center to research and treat the frogs, which have seen declining populations over the past few decades. The biggest culprit seems to be the invasive chytrid fungus, which arrived by the 1980s, and which attacks the frogs’ skin and can lead to death. Since developing tree frogs seem to be more susceptible to the disease than full-grown adults, Kolby plans to capture young frogs, clear them of fungus through medication or heat treatments, and then release them back into the wild (tagged for future study).

More:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/honduras-tree-frogs-conservation-chytrid-fungus-logging-harcc/

Video at link.