Download a low resolution version of FrogLog 117 here or the high resolution version here. Print quality version available upon request by emailing the Editor-in-Chief: [email protected].
Dear Frogloggers,
Hello to an all new FrogLog! In celebration of the recently updated Amphibian Conservation Action Plan—ACAP (yes, after eight years since the production of the original ACAP, it has now been reviewed and updated and is now a living document that can be found here), we are moving the focus of FrogLog away from the regional approach to one that focuses on the global and local strategies that are underway to address the ACAP priority actions.
Each edition of FrogLog will now focus on one of the four core Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) “Challenges” (as outlined on amphibians.org): In the Wild (March), In Captivity (June), One Green Health (September) and Communication and Education (December). Each of these Challenges encapsulates several ACAP themes (found here).
As both the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) and ASA have been growing and developing, so has our individual and joint impacts. FrogLog is now providing us with an opportunity to showcase some of these efforts in a format that addresses global priorities. However, soon after we started working on this edition of FrogLog it became clear that the new approach posed new challenges. First and foremost, we wanted to report on the global response to address the new ACAP priority actions, not merely the actions taken by the ASA and ASG. Although we have tried to reach out to many different groups, we have been unable to present a comprehensive summary of all the actions taken. Therefore, please consider this as the bare minimum of what has been achieved during the last year. We know that there are likely more actions, from the local to the global level, that are not reported here (please contact us if you would like us to feature your response to the priority actions). In the coming years we hope to improve this situation, helping to communicate the amazing amount of ongoing work around the world to help save amphibians.
We had three key considerations in updating ACAP. Firstly, ACAP needed to be a framework for any individual, group, policy maker or organization to be able to easily engage in amphibian conservation. Secondly, it needed to provide discrete, measurable and achievable targets that could be easily evaluated and thirdly, we needed a model that could be regularly and cost-effectively updated. In short, the new ACAP needed to be achievable, accessible and accountable. The output was a broad overview of current challenges in 12 thematic areas which identified very specific priorities for the short, medium and long terms.
The new ACAP provides a list of major constraints to each conservation issue, and then a list of mid- and short-term priority targets. Most thematic working groups (WGs) divided these into Science, Policy and Conservation actions to help focus on the individual issues. With around 450 actions, this is no small list of priorities. The twelve ASG WGs were made up of members from around the globe, with well over 100 experts providing input into the process.
From the perspective of the ASA, this was exactly what was needed to give the Alliance direction and continue its growth. From the outset, the ASG has acted as the Scientific Advisory Board to the Alliance. Under the helm of Ariadne Angulo and myself the ASG has made major progress in establishing itself as an effective coordinating group for amphibian conservation around the world. During the last year members of the ASG have provided input on the value of projects, policy issues and opinions. This effective and operational resource is allowing the Alliance to move forward on projects based on the scientific advice and guidance of over 500 of the world’s leading amphibian conservationists, researchers and educators.
With the ACAP updated, the ASA and ASG have started to coordinate its implementation. As the Alliance is still a relatively young entity, it is in the early stages of determining how to effectively coordinate global actions. We are striving to get to a point where there is a clear set of priority actions, that a coordinated community is working on accomplishing and effectively reporting on its progress. The new ACAP is helping us move in this direction but we need more input, more partners and improved communications across the board before we get there. Until then, we will continue to work to improve all of these aspects—advice, assistance, and of course funding—are very much appreciated and needed.
Phil Bishop
Co-Chair, IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group
Chief Scientist, Amphibian Survival Alliance
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 – Editorial
NEWS FROM THE ASA & ASG
5 – Where Next in the Fight Against the Invasive Toad in Madagascar?
7 – Dr. Ariadne Angulo Receives IUCN Award of Excellence
8 – Prince Charles Gets up Close and Personal with Native New Zealand Frogs (Leiopelma spp.)
9 – New IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group Members
10 – Joint ASA/ASG Seed Grant Project: Strengthening Capacity to Conserve Venezuelan Amphibians
12 – Disappearing Frogs Project Leaps into Action in the Triangle and Sandhills in 2016
NEW FROM THE AMPHIBIAN COMMUNITY
13 – New Website for Deadly Salamander Fungus
13 – Switzerland Bans the Importation of all Salamander Species Because of the Salamander Chytrid
15 – Translocation Project Gives Wisconsin’s Salamanders a Helping Hand
17 – The Salamander’s Smile: Photography’s Powerful Role in Conservation
23 – Urban Amphibians: Results of the Fourth Year of a Road Mortality Mitigation Project in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
27 – The Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey: A Great Amphibian Adventure
29 – Special Amphibian Issue of Conservation Evidence Now Available
30 – Research, Environmental Education and Ethnobiology: Integrated Actions and Strategies for Amphibian Conservation in Brazilian Agricultural Landscapes
AMPHIBIAN CONSERVATION ACTION PLAN UPDATES: IN THE WILD
35 – Protecting Africa’s Most Endangered Frogs
36 – The Sleeping Child Reserve in the Western Guatemalan Highlands
40 – Priority Amphibian and Reptile Areas (PARCAs) Aim to Jumpstart Conservation for North America’s Rich Amphibian and Reptile Diversity
41 – Establishing a Global Acoustic Monitoring Network
43 – Update from the ASG Species Conservation Strategies Working Group
44 – Update from the ASG Climate Change Working Group