Three Frogs; Treefrogs

These awesome frogs are featured on a calender produced by the Amphibian project coordinated by several major international conservation groups and Zoos worldwide. Globally, amphibians are severely threatened by various threats including loss of habitat, pollution, climate change, and an infectious fungus called chytridiomycosis or "chytrid" (pronounced "kit-rid")

The first frog is a spiny-headed Treefrog, from cloud forests of central America. The male calls from pockets of water -- typically bromeliads or tree holes -- high up in the canopy. The female deposits her eggs just above the water line and when the tadpoles hatch, they wiggle free and drop into the water. The mother will return to the pool and lay unfertilized eggs, which her babies feed upon, and they become frogs in 60 days.

The second photograph is of an Ankafana Bright-eyed Frog from Madagascar. Lime-green, it blends with the foliage that it hides in during the day. The Bright-eyed frog is always found along streams in various habitats from degraded secondary to pristine primary forest. Luckily, this frog occurs in protected areas.

The last image is of the striking Australian Lace-lid Treefrog, with its unique eye camouflage, from North Queensland, Australia. It has disappeared from the uplands, but is still found at lower elevations, where it lives along fast-moving streams in the rainforest. The lace-lid was declared an endangered species in 1999, but the reason for its sharp decline is unknown.

Frogs are a diverse, beautiful group of animals that are important to ecosystems both for the prey (mostly insects) that they eat, and for being a food source for vertebrates. This represents a biological diversity crisis second only to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Photos by B. Kubicki, P. Naskrecki, and J. Rowley

The Challenges of Field Work

"As we proceed with the Bososandja forest plans, our goal is to organize and fund a large mammal inventory (using a consistent methodology) for the entire Lukenie-Sankuru forest block and the Lusambo forest block. Only with this data can we make an unequivocal case for the importance of protecting a particular area (the Bososandja). This effort will continue to rely on provincial, territorial, and local (groupement, localité) review, as we have done in the past to ensure that they have a say in the process and geographic boundaries. Critical to the process is formal mapping that will assure that authorities (government and traditional) are very clear what we are discussing."

These words, so straightforward, were recently written by Dr. Jo Thompson, who studies bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What is not apparent are the physical hardships that are part and parcel of working in the field. One has to deal with slippery log bridges across steams, stinging insects, thorny plants, exhausting days, and lonely nights of solitary work. On the human side, one faces demanding officials, deals with a foreign language and culture, and endures the high costs and unavailability of almost everything. The lack of transportation, communication, and access to health care requires a fearless approach to life. Many may dream romantically about studying wildlife, but few have the ability to do so.

Photo by R. Ross

Manatee and Calf Return to the Wild

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has a very successful, very active volunteer team of employees who help officials with stranded, injured, or otherwise compromised marine mammals in northeast Florida. In this case, a mother and calf were found cold stressed, this past February, near an outfall of a water plant (the water here is a degree or two warmer than the surrounding river. Manatees have an uncanny ability to find these spots -- but they quickly become death traps, because they cannot endure the winter temperatures for long and there is little food for them).

The Zoo team helped to rescue the pair and transport them to Sea World in Orlando, where they were successfully rehabilitated. Finally, four and a half months later, on the 28 of May, the two animals were returned to the area, to be released back to the wild not far from where they had been originally found. In the photo, the calf is carried in a sling to the edge of Julington Creek.

State officials, Sea World biologists, and four members of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens team all shared in the exhilaration of having made a difference for wild animals. As reported by J. Fleming, a keeper and team member:

"A quick plan of action was shared by the Sea World leader and we quickly got to work, The calf weighed ~ 400 pounds, while the cow weighed over 1,500 lbs, (she's huge)! After unloading them onto the boat ramp and into the shallows, the cow, named Bella, swam off followed shortly thereafter by the calf, Edward. We saw them surface for air as they swam away in a western direction. It was an awesome experience and a privilege to a part of a positive outcome."

Photo by: H. Zirhut

It Takes a Village to Save a Species

Dr. Jo Thompson, PhD, studies bonobos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She involves the local people in grassroots decisions about protecting the bonobo, and she provides benefits like employment and community improvement. The photos show Thompson with her workers and the park guards that she supports. From a recent email, Jo writes about how she works at obtaining consensus from the villagers.

"For now we continue to support the work of ICCN in the Anga Secteur of Parc National de la Salonga, strengthen our relationship with the Iyaelima people living exclusively inside the national park, continue lobbying and monitoring across the whole of the Lukuru zone of influence and maintain our focused energies around the Bososandja forest block. In addition, we meet annually with the greater population of the region; a formal reunion with the local population, representatives of all clans, traditional chiefs, and authorities.

"This typically involves a three-day commitment of exchange. We update the communities on the activities of the Lukuru Project, discuss their ideas about our role, and exchange assurances. The population reports on their conservation activities and challenges. So for example, last year we discussed the problem of poachers around Yasa for commercial bushmeat trade.

"The annual meetings involve a lot of back-and-forth, emotion and shared humor. Over the course of the days of meeting, the population sequesters themselves periodically to talk amongst themselves and then come back to me formally with thoughts. Often their requests are either out of the purview of the Lukuru Project or unrealistic. But, we always strive to have a common outcome.

"Some of the current obligations made on behalf of the Lukuru Project are:

1) I have agreed to bring an engineer to Yasa to evaluate the suitability for sinking a tube well.

2) I have agreed to research the process of making soap. There will be further discussion about this based on what I learn.

3) The population has requested that the Lukuru Project have a professional garde formation. I have agreed to recruit addition personnel for the Bososandja. This will entail formal training and equipping.

4) The population wants assistance to build houses to help host guests in the future.

5) I have agreed to provide tin roofing for the school and help develop the curriculum. They requested that I build a house for the Lukuru Project in the village."

Photos by R. Ross

Florida Panther in a Tree

White Oak Conservation Center, in north-east Florida, is a first-class research and breeding facility devoted to wildlife and habitat preservation. Located on 7,400 acres, with 600 acres developed for animals, the Center is an American Zoo and Aquarium (AZA) related facility with projects around the world, as well as locally.

White Oak is the only place in the country where injured or sick Florida panthers are nursed back to health and then rehabilitated back to the wild, in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This endangered cat, high up in a tree, is seen in a 17 acre fenced pen. From this pen, a dozen total have been radio-collared and returned to the location of their capture. The hard stare of the cat belies its precarious position in only 5% of the original home range, in South Florida, where there is little suitable habitat left.

This species is not without controversy, because its status as a "subspecies" is not clear. Some scientists claim that all of the North American panthers (cougar, mountain lion, catamount, puma are synonyms) should be lumped into one species. At an estimated population of only 80 to 100 animals, the probable inbreeding has been mitigated by the infusion of Texas cougar genes. Consequences of inbreeding in the Florida panther has been cardiac disease and low sperm counts in males.

For more information about the White Oak Conservation Center, visit http://www.wocenter.org/index.asp?id=wocc/animals.asp

Photos by: D. Loeb

Elvira Jaguar: Mistress of the Night

Martin Main, Ph.D., from the University of Florida, and Ph.D graduate student, Emiliano Ramalho, study jaguars in a flooded rainforest in central Brazil. Jaguars are nocturnal, elusive and solitary, and little is know about their population density. The Amazon basin is critical to jaguar conservation because it holds the greatest numbers of animals. The Amazon contains large stretches of intact habitat that communicates with other important ecosystems.

Main's team captured the beautiful female jaguar pictured above on Halloween, 2008. Fittingly, she was named "Elvira," and fitted with a GPS collar that will record her location every two hours for a year. The data collected will establish her range and movement with the change in water levels that flood up to 36 feet every year. (The area is so inundated that Mr. Ramalho stays in a floating research camp.)

Typically, infrared "camera traps" are used to photograph and identify individual free-ranging wild animals. Scat (feces) is also collected to study prey species eaten. The jaguar is a top predator that also takes domestic stock, and is killed by ranchers and villagers. Mitigating jaguar/human conflict will become a primary concern of conservationists, as the human population is ever increasing in central Brazil.

Dr. Main is also looking at other, complimentary techniques to camera trapping and radio collaring. Another student has done trials at the The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens with non-invasive collection of hairs, which will provide DNA material that will provide information on parentage and familial relationships.

For further information:
http://international.ifas.ufl.edu/focus_newsletters/2009/February2009/Jaguar.shtml

Photo by M. Main

Conservation Commerce in Zimbabwe

Wendy Blakeley was my room mate at the Zoos and Aquariums Committing to Conservation (ZACC) Conference in January, in Houston. She works with "conservation commerce," in conjunction with a painted dog (years ago they were called "African Wild Dogs") project in Zimbabwe.

"Conservation commerce" is the latest buzzword in the conservation world, because it represents a real link between the haves and have-nots, and can be a deciding factor in that ever-elusive human element in the protection of wildlife and habitat. Without local community buy-in, outside interests will surely fail.

Simply put, a product that has some intrinsic value is produced by a community, and then shipped to distant markets for sale. Profits stay local. This, tied with educational messages, tacit understandings, and specific incentives (such as additional perks for no poaching incidents) will lead to an equitable trade off of jobs gained from animals protected.

The first photograph shows Wendy with her wares, which were sold to the ZACC delegates, some of whom were purchasing for their own facilities' gift shops. Items included jewelry, beaded work, and realistic wood carvings of painted dogs (second image).

The Painted Dog project has some interesting twists. A material used to create animal art is the wire from collected snares (third photograph of a snare-wire sculpture). This use provides a double incentive to collect the illegal snares, and can be viewed as anti-litter, as well as anti-poaching.

One of the challenges in the past has been a lack of knowledge of marketing, importing, logistics, and retailing of articles. Up until now, conservation commerce has been mostly individual field researchers bringing products back in suitcases. Clearly, this hit and miss method, although altruistic, led to frustrations. A broader approach, in consultation with marketing experts, will result in more sustainable benefit to local conservation efforts.

The painted dog project has many goals including research, rehabilitation, education, and alternative sources of income. Their goal is to have a "stable" of zoos that exhibit painted dogs or other African carnivores, that will retail the art and jewelry made in Zimbabwe. Today, some knowledgeable customers are seeking unique merchandise that will directly benefit wild animals.
For more information, see http://www.painteddog.org/

ZACC In Situ Conservation Conference

Every two years, zoo professionals and field researchers hold a meeting about in situ (occurring in range countries) conservation projects. This year, the "Zoos and Aquariums committing to Conservation" (ZACC) meeting was hosted by the Houston Zoo, from 22 to 26 January, 2009. Nearly 200 attendees representing 135 organizations from 27 countries met to share stories about unique solutions for habitat and wildlife protection.

Unlike many other professional meetings, the ZACC sessions are held consecutively, which means that all of the presentations are available to the delegates. As conservation is based on passion, it is important to have personal contacts with the field researchers, and ZACC is a great venue to meet field researchers. Savvy zoos send their conservation decision makers to "shop" among a smorgasbord of projects ("I found a great jaguar project to compliment our exhibit, now I need something for South American birds").

The ZACC conference is one of my favorite meetings. I learned about work on the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, California condors, Attwater's Prairie chickens, and the discovery that bats that have taken up residence in urban bridges actually seem to have greater survivorship than individuals of the same species that roost in caves.

For the African continent, there were presentations on wattled cranes, ungulate migration routes in Tanzania, Gabon ecotourism, bonobos, and cheetahs. For Asian conservation, the delegates learned about Przewalski's horses, snow leopards, sun bears, and sea turtles in Sri Lanka. For Central and South America, there was research presented on cotton-top tamarins, lowland tapirs, amphibian conservation in Panama, and yellow-tailed woolly monkeys.

There were also presentations on carbon offsetting, new guidelines from the IUCN species survival commission, the global amphibian crisis, emerging wildlife conservation heroes, artists for conservation, and sustainable conservation commerce.

Through sponsorships, the conference also awards funding to worthwhile field projects, that are also presented at the meeting. The grantees for 2009 include:

A community wood fuel project in Uganda, where inexpensive, locally produced stoves use less wood, thus sparing trees.

Using health care incentives to protect wild orangutans in Sumatra.

Satellite tracking and social behavior of the Bornean elephant in Malaysia.

Protecting snow leopards through an insurance compensation scheme in India.

An integrated approach to ecosystem conservation in the Rift Valley of Kenya.

Improving the infrastructure of ostrich breeding in Niger.

Scarlet macaw conservation in Guatemala.

The first ZACC conference was held in 1995 at the Columbus Zoo in an effort to build a global network for wildlife conservation by linking zoos, aquariums, and stakeholders in in situ projects. The next meeting, will be hosted by the Woodland Park Zoo, in Seattle, Washington, in 2011. (ZACC has become so successful and popular, that European Zoos are planning a similar meeting in the "even" years.)

Follow Up: Year of the Frog

One third of the world's frogs are in danger of extinction. The American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) declared 2008 the "Year of the Frog" due to the loss of amphibian populations around the world. Frogs, such as this beautiful orange-legged leaf frog, are threatened by habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and human over exploitation for food and for the pet trade. The stresses placed upon these animals makes them vulnerable to an emerging fungal disease called chytrid (pronounced 'kit rid').

So what happens in 2009 and beyond? The AZA is asking member institutions to continue their amphibian activities with the "Saving Frogs" campaign. It will begin in March with daylight savings time change, and will help zoos educate the public about the amphibian crisis.

The AZA will be taking over Frogwatch USA from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Frogwatch is a long term citizen science program that involves volunteer monitoring of frog and toad populations. By learning the calls of local frogs and recording those calls on a periodic basis over a breeding season, private citizens can contribute to a nationwide database of information. For more, see http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchusa/

2008 was the inaugural year that amphibian specific projects were funded by AZA's Conservation Endowment Fund (CEF). $175,000 was distributed to 9 projects, and these contributions will continue into the future.

Some of the work that zoos and aquariums are doing is the captive breeding of critically endangered species for eventual release, in range habitats that will support them. Due to the need to ramp up amphibian husbandry techniques, the AZA is offering a course in Amphibian Biology, Conservation and Management to be held in April, 2009, at the Toledo Zoo.

Photo by Piotr Naskrecki, AZA calendar

Out On A Limb...

In mid-September, I went to Milwaukee for the annual September conference of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA). While visiting the hosting zoo (Milwaukee County Zoo), I noticed conservation messages throughout the grounds. Even a grove of trees warranted signage with information about the importance of forests, and three simple things one can do -- remove invasive plants, plant native plants, and join a conservation organization.

Today, modern zoos are powerful organizations. With our urban lifestyles, where else but a zoo to provide compelling conservation arguments against a backdrop of living plants and animals? The message can be as complex as climate change and the future of polar bears, or as simple as "go plant a tree."

Photos by D. Messinger

It's a Fungal Jungle

Tied to the opening of a new exhibit called "Save the Frogs", this poster was produced by the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens:

"The greatest mass extinction since the dinosaurs is happening in our time. With the threat of a shrinking habitat, pollution, climate change, and a fungus called chytrid, frog species from all over the world -- even here in our own backyard -- need our help to survive. In 2008, the "Year of the Frog," the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens opened the Save the Frogs! Amphibian Conservation Center -- a sanctuary for amphibians to be bred and returned to the wild."

For more information about the amphibian crisis,visit http://www.jacksonvillezoo.org/conservation/amphibiansincrisis.asp

A Green, Green Roof

This is a wonderful sign and display with live plants, for the promotion of a sedum planted roof at the education building of the Milwaukee County Zoo. The zoo hosted the American Zoo and Aquarium Association national conference last week. Planted roofs are an old fashioned method of construction in northern Europe, but they are gaining popularity in this country.

In an increasing energy conscious nation, "Green" buildings are another way of looking at conservation. There are many ways to build a resource efficient building, depending on one's location. These can range from simple (orientation of windows, planting of deciduous trees) to complex (solar heat pumps, earth berms, geothermal energy, straw bale construction, locally produced, recycled materials).

The goal of an eco-building is to improve occupant health and productivity, while using resources more efficiently. The environmental impact should be reduced, while the value of the construction will increase. Although start-up costs may be high, there should be a savings over the life of the building.

For the Milwaukee County Zoo, the specific benefits of a planted roof is to reduce storm water runoff, decrease pollution, and lower temperatures. The graphic links the reader to a web cam where one can compare water runoffs and temperatures between the planted roof and a control section of roof without plants. For more information visit:

http://www.zoosociety.org/Education/GreenRoof.php

BOGO Light

As a Peace Corps volunteer, a difficult adjustment to African village life was the lack of electricity, and I missed lights the most. Being on the Equator, the "day" was only twelve hours long throughout the year, with sunrise at 6:00 am and sunset at 6:00 pm.

It was a challenge to stay awake after dinner and prepare my lesson plans for the next day's classes by candlelight, which gave real meaning to the expression, "going to bed with the chickens." Everyone in the village was paralyzed at night by the darkness. What we would have given for a solar powered light....

Today this is possible with the SunNight Solar flashlight. SunNight is working with social and environmental organizations, including the Houston Zoo, to send solar flashlights to developing countries. Their website is http://www.sunnightsolar.com/

Two billion people, or one third of the world's population face darkness every night. Often, people use dangerous kerosene lanterns. Alternatively, they might use candles or battery flashlights, both of which are expensive and harmful to the environment. Every night, two billion people make choices that have a negative impact on their health, income, education and security.

SunNight Solar’s BOGO Light transforms the night by offering people in need a new choice. Generating clean LED light from rechargeable solar-powered batteries, SunNight Solar’s BOGO Light can go where other fuel-dependant lights can’t: to a poor person in a small village located far from the electricity grid.

The Houston Zoo collaborates with the SunNight company by offering them for sale in their gift shop and on their website. For every flashlight sold for $25, the zoo sends one to conservation projects in developing countries for distribution to deserving families.

Zoo Team for Marine Mammal Rescue

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has been ramping up its conservation projects over the past several years. One of the more unique efforts has been developed from the interest and passion of the zoo's Mammal Curator, Craig Miller.

Two years, ago, a meeting between Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the zoo's animal dept was held to float the idea of a zoo based team of volunteers for helping with manatee, whale, dolphin and other related incidents.

The idea was accepted with enthusiasm because the state had few volunteers, and there were times when the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's Marine Mammal Research Program officials were strapped for manpower. Most importantly, they appreciated the thought of a group of people who already had a basic knowledge of animal capture (how to be safe!), animal transport, and animal biology.

With training, the zoo's Marine Mammal team quickly showed its ability to identify species, collect data on deceased animals, and transport critically ill or injured animals to the captive rehabilitation centers. The zoo now has a permanent team of 40 staff -- all full-time employees, from different departments, although the majority are zookeepers.

The arrangement between the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and the FWC is a win-win situation. Zoo volunteers have been able to participate in training and research field trips all over the state, as a "perk" to their jobs. There is so much passion for the project that most of the volunteers do their work on their days off, although sometimes employees are allowed to take time during the work day.

The first photograph shows four zoo staff in their project T-shirts on a FCW manatee research boat and the second is of the successful netting of a juvenile manatee. Staff volunteers love that they are making a direct, hands-on contribution to conservation and meanwhile, collaboration with the state officials continues to evolve.

Photos by Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens/FWC

Land Snakes Alive!

What animal is almost universally feared and despised? The serpent! The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has developed a unique "citizen science" conservation project entitled Land Snakes Alive! that will attempt to dispel the myths about these little understood creatures.

With 130 acres, the zoo is fortunate to have several species of snakes that are frequently seen in the public areas. Land Snakes Alive is a pilot study that involves capturing, tagging, releasing, and re-capturing the snakes on zoo property. Much of the work will be conducted in front of guests, as the snakes are found. This will provide a one-on-one interaction with a zoo "scientist".

The top photo shows a yellow rat snake in a tree with the second one showing a keeper catching it. In the next image, a keeper is inserting the transponder, or "chip". The transponder is about the size of a large grain of rice and is placed in the muscle, along the side, just in front of the vent (cloaca).

At the bottom, the transponder is checked by the hand-held reader which displays the 10-digit number. Besides conducting real snake population science, staff will have an "ice breaker" for questions from curious guests. The zoo will be able to survey if this type of experience can change attitudes about the controversial snake.

Photos by D. Ferri