Tragic Planet » Wildlife

New Species of Frogs Disappearing as Fast as They’re Found

sduford — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:52:01 +0000

New species of frogs in Panama are being lost nearly as fast as they are being found to a deadly fungal disease that is sweeping through the region.In an effort to document the diversity of frogs in Central America before the disease sweeps through the entire region, scientists are discovering new species, some of which are going extinct, and some of which are surviving.In Panama’s Omar Torrijos National Park, 11 new species of frogs were discovered in the course of the long-term survey. After the fungus epidemic in 2004, five of these species went locally extinct, but only one of them is thought to have no other known habitats.

via New Species of Frogs Disappearing as Fast as They’re Found | Wired Science | Wired.com.

Large Number of Bird Species Facing Rapid Decline in North America

sduford — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:22:55 +0000

Quetzal

Nearly 150 of the 882 land bird species in North America are in sharp decline, especially in Mexico, Greg LawatayA resplendent quetzalaccording to a new report. The report, issued by Partners in Flight — a consortium of academics,conservationists, government agencies, and philanthropists — said that 124 of the 148 imperiled bird species spend much of their time in Mexico, where habitat destruction is occurring more rapidly than in the U.S. and Canada. The threatened birds in Mexico include the thick-billed parrot, the horned guan, and the resplendent quetzal, a green and red bird with long tail feathers that feeds on avocados. The study also identified 24 imperiled land bird species in the U.S. and Canada, including the cerulean warbler, the Canadian warbler, and the black swift. The study found that one third of the 882 land bird species in North America spend substantial amounts of time in at least two of the countries. Species that live in the U.S. often winter in Mexico or breed in Canada, meaning that habitat degradation in any of the three North American nations can adversely affect bird populations.

via Yale Environment 360: Large Number of Bird Species Facing Rapid Decline in North America.

The Natural World Vanishes: How Species Cease To Matter

sduford — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:20:52 +0000

We’ve been decimating fish populations, and few seem to care. How “inter-generational amnesia” leads to complacency.
Read the whole story…

The Golden Frog of Panama

sduford — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 17:22:58 +0000

The Golden Frog of Panama.

The cute little Golden Frog was a national symbol of Panama. It fell victim of the chytrid fungus which wiped it out in 2007.

The Panamanian golden frog declared extinct by BBC Natural History crew

Thankfully Panamanian authorities along with several zoos around the world were able to collect a few specimens to start a breeding program and preserve the species until a cure is found.

Houston Zoo makes golden effort to save iconic frog

маси и столовеProject Golden Frog

The plight of the magnificent polar bears

sduford — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 16:32:12 +0000

(source) WASHINGTON – Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will be killed off by 2050 — and the entire population gone from Alaska — because of thinning sea ice from global warming in the Arctic, government scientists forecast Friday.

Only in the northern Canadian Arctic islands and the west coast of Greenland are any of the world’s 16,000 polar bears expected to survive through the end of the century, said the U.S. Geological Survey, which is the scientific arm of the Interior Department.

USGS projects that polar bears during the next half-century will disappear along the north coasts of Alaska and Russia and lose 42 percent of the Arctic range they need to live in during summer in the Polar Basin when they hunt and breed. A polar bear’s life usually lasts about 30 years.

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