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Showing posts with the label amphibian conservation

Re-issue of expired Care2 Article by Tex Dworkin and Mark Mandica

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The article that my dear friend Tex and I worked on 4 years ago is no longer accessible on the Care2 site where it was published. I thought I would post it here, as it provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with conservation minded folks, who were not necessarily aware of the global amphibian extinction crisis. You can still find remnants of the original article on Pintrest. Plus, it was the first time I ever had my cell phone photography featured in a publication. It's a very nice piece, and brought a lot of attention to amphibians. I thought, given all that has been happening with quarantines and COVID-19, it would be a good time to share some of my favorite frog pictures.  Some of the language has been updated --------- Meet 10 Stunning Frogs Whose Populations are Dwindling Slope Snouted Glass Frog , Cochranella euknemos Conservation Status: Decreasing Glass Frogs (family Centrolenidae) are so named due to the translucent skin on their bellies. This al...

Memphis Zoo & Amphibian Foundation: Working Together to Conserve Georgia's Rarest Frog, the Gopher Frog

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In 2019, the Memphis Zoo and the Amphibian Foundation began collaborating on a project to further conserve the Gopher Frog , Rana ( Lithobates ) capito , through a Memphis Zoo Conservation Action Network (CAN) Grant . The grant was aimed at supporting the expansion of both the in situ and ex situ research initiatives developing at the Amphibian Foundation, and we are extremely grateful for the zoo's support in this project. In situ Goals Gopher Frog summit @ AF 2018 Amphibian Foundation staff serve on the Gopher Frog Task Team , which is an ad hoc interstate group of agencies and institutions dedicated to conserving this imperiled species throughout its range. The team targets populations in need of conservation and augmentation, as well as identifying areas in need of restoration to support wild populations of the species. We are happy for the opportunity to contribute in this talented and passionate group. In a task team meeting, we identified Alligator Cree...

2020 Status Update: Frosted Flatwoods Salamanders (Atlantic clade)

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We can once again confirm that the Frosted Flatwoods Salamander, Ambystoma cingulatum , is not extinct in Georgia, though we did not find many (yet) in our surveys of the last known population of the species on the East Coast — Fort Stewart Army Base, Liberty County, GA. Larval Flatwoods Salamanders are typically the target of field surveys, as they are difficult to detect in adult and egg stages. Larval Flatwoods Salamander, in situ For some background on the species status and conservation efforts, see previous blog articles on the topic here . Tobias, the Director of Research at the Amphibian Foundation, showing off the first Flatwoods Salamander he has ever detected in the wild. Ben Stegenga of the Orianne Society came to help survey. Here he is detecting his very first Flatwoods Salamander larvae. We know how he feels :) Always nice to see Little Grass Frogs , Pseudacris ocularis In situ Stegenga Occasionally, Southern Cricket Frog...