Toad-like ‘inner eye’ makes it hard to look away, York researcher says
The Canadian Press    December 15, 2011

Late is better than never, right? We’ll be adding the week in frog news to the FrogBlog every week now, thanks to Kristin Womack for taking charge of the compilation.

Frog News compiled by SAVE THE FROGS! Volunteer Kristin Womack

“I have lived in Scotts Valley since 1967. As a kid I spent a lot of time exploring the fields, forests, and wetlands of my home. Back then you couldn’t walk ten yards across a field without encountering a garter snake or two. There were small ponds and swampy areas all around that were just full of frogs and snakes and stuff. It was a really great place to grow up and through my early curiosity in all things cold-blooded I developed a real appreciation for and interest in snakes and frogs. The reason I am writing now is that for the first time I can remember, when I open my window at night I can not here a single frog…not one…all year.

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A new species of limbless amphibian Ichthyophis davidi from the
bordering districts of Goa and Karnataka states of Western Ghats

In a joint effort by the researchers Dr. Gopalakrishna Bhatta of Department of Biology, BASE Educational Services Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru; Dr. K.P. Dinesh and Dr. C. Radhakrishnan of Western Ghats Regional Centre, Calicut; Mr. P. Prashanth of Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe and Mr. Nirmal U Kulkarni of Mhadei Research Centre, Chorla Ghats have discovered a new species of limbless yellow striped caecilian from the Belgaum district of Karnataka which is part of the Western Ghats of India.
The new species Ichthyophis davidi is one of the largest known yellow striped caecilian from Western Ghats and is named in honor of Dr. David Gower, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London in recognition of his contributions to Indian caecilian studies. The common name suggested for the species is Chorla Giant striped Ichthyophis.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will conduct an in-depth status review of 374 rare southeastern aquatic, riparian and wetland animal and plant species and May Warrant Endangered Species Act Protection Includes 13 Amphibians and 12 Reptiles

Press Release-USF&WS 9/26/11
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will conduct an in-depth status review of 374 rare southeastern aquatic, riparian and wetland animal and plant species to determine if any or all of them warrant federal protection as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The Service made this decision, commonly known as a 90-day finding, after reviewing a petition seeking to add a total of 404 species to the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants and analyzing information about these species in its files. While this initial review found evidence to suggest that ESA protection may be warranted for 374 of these species, the Service will now undertake a more thorough status review before determining whether to propose any of them for listing.

The review will encompass 13 amphibians, six amphipods, 17 beetles, three birds, four butterflies, six caddisflies, 81 crayfish, 14 dragonflies, 43 fish, one springfly, two isopods, four mammals, one moth, 35 mussels, six non-vascular plants, 12 reptiles, 43 snails, eight stoneflies, and 75 vascular plants. Included in the review is the Florida sandhill crane, a
long-legged, long-necked gray crane that resembles herons except for the bald patch of red skin on top of its head.

“The Endangered Species Act has proved to be a critical safety net for America’s imperiled fish, wildlife, and plants. Our finding today is the first step in determining whether these species need the special protection afforded by the Act,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.

Eighteen of the 404 species petitioned are already on the Service’s list of candidates for listing as threatened or endangered or are subjects of a proposed rule to list. The decision for one fish, the Alabama shad, was given to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) because the species is under its jurisdiction. The NMFS found that the petition did not present substantial scientific or commercial information to move forward with a 12-month finding for the Alabama shad. The Service has not yet made a finding on the remaining 11 species, but anticipates doing so no later than September 30, 2011.

Most of the species, such as the caddisflies and crayfish, are found in small areas. However, some like the green floater mussel and the black rail historically ranged over much larger areas and have seen their habitat and numbers significantly reduced. All of these species face one or more of the following threats:  the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of their habitat or range; overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; disease or predation; the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and natural or manmade factors affecting the species’ survival.

The status reviews for these species (other than the 18 already on the candidate list), as well as any subsequent listing proposals that may follow, will likely follow completion of a multi-year listing work plan approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on September 9, 2011. This work plan, developed through a settlement agreement with WildEarth Guardians and a separate, complimentary settlement agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, will enable the agency to systematically, over a period of six years, review and address the needs of more than 250 species now on the candidate list, to determine if they require ESA protection. A list of these species is available at
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_ESA/listing_workplan.html.

Based on the status reviews for these 374 aquatic-dependent species, the Service will issue 12-month findings for each species and determine whether to propose them for listing. At this time, however, the 12-month findings are not scheduled to be completed within the next six years due to the priorities detailed in this court-approved work plan, unless the Service is able to combine these findings with other actions already funded and/or scheduled.

To ensure this status review is comprehensive, the Service is soliciting information on the 374 species from governmental agencies, Native American tribes, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested parties concerning the status of the species.

The finding will publish in the Federal Register on September 27, 2011. (I think it was meant to say 2012).

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Written comments regarding the status of these 374 species may be submitted by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FWS-R4-ES-2011-0049-0001

U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. [FWS–R4–ES–2011–0049]; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.

Comments must be received within 60 days, on or before November 28, 2011. The Service will post all comments on http://www.regulations.gov. This generally means the agency will post any personal information provided through the process. The Service is not able to accept email or faxes.

For further information contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services, Southeast Regional Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1875 Century Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30345.

For more information about this finding, please visit the Service’s Southeast regional web site at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/.

Vanessa Kauffman, 703-358-2138, vanessa_kauffman@fws.gov
Tom MacKenzie, 404-679-7291, tom_mackenzie@fws.gov

SAVE THE FROGS! is making great progress on our campaign to get frog dissections out of all US public schools by 2014. In May we we got nationwide news when nine California schools dropped their entire animal dissection programs. Today Central Coast News (CBS-46/FOX-35 California) highlighted our campaign with this 2-minute video:

Learn more about dissections and our campaign at:
www.savethefrogs.com/dissections

Dwarf Frog Culprit In Salmonella Outbreak
TylerPaper   August 4, 2011

Pasadena approves first phase of Devil’s Gate project
Mercury News   August 3, 2011

Parasite Creating Deformed Frogs in Western U.S.
National Geographic   August 3, 2011

Fungus Pushes Frogs Toward Extinction
NBCWashington   August 2, 2011

Ryder lake toads on the move
Chilliwack Progress   August 2, 2011

Terry Jones Urges Frog Lovers To ‘Bring Out Your Dead… Frogs’
VentnorBlog    August 1, 2011

A boy, a frog, a knife
SFGate   August 1, 2011

Tucson monsoon brings pet danger in form of toxic toad
Fox11AZ   August 1, 2011

Veterinarian removes screw from hungry toad
Sun Herald   July 28, 2011

Hunt is on for London’s scaly frogs and lizards to help save our own skin
London24   July 28, 2011

The end is in sight for amphibian fungal disease
e! Science   July 27, 2011

Amphibian invasion? Nope, just mating season
Merced Sun Star   July 26, 2011

Tiny toad found in Australian desert
Science News   July 26, 2011

Frogs are dying in record numbers. Now you can help scientists study this problem.
io9   July 26, 2011

Night critters provide a musical interlude: Frogs, toads and insects fill the air with relaxing sounds
Chron Life   July 22, 2011

“Extinct” Toad Thrives in Lab
National Geographic   July 21, 2011

For the love of your pet: Frogs and dogs
Victoria Advocate   July 21, 2011

Zoologger: How deaf-mute frogs talk to each other
New Scientist   July 21, 2011

Lost Rainbow Toad Found After 87 Years
Wired Science   July 14, 2011

More Frog News at:
http://savethefrogs.com/newsletters

Posted by SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger

One of the greatest threats to California’s native wildlife is the continued introduction of non-native American Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana or Lithobates catesbeianus). The bullfrogs, widely regarded as one of the world’s worst invasive species, prey on native wildlife and spread infectious diseases. California currently imports several million live American Bullfrogs into the state annually, most coming from Asian frog farms.

In March 2010, the California Fish & Game Commission voted unanimously to stop issuing permits for the importation of non-native frogs (and turtles) for use as food. However, at the request of six Asian-American politicians from the San Francisco area (Fiona Ma; Leland Yee; Ted Lieu; Warren Furutani; Paul Fong; Mike Eng), the Commission held a “re-consideration” hearing on May 19th, 2010. I testified at the hearing, and 1,196 SAVE THE FROGS! supporters sent letters to the Commission asking them to uphold their original ruling. Amidst cries of cultural insensitivity, the Commission voted 3-2 this time to stop issuing permits. A close call, but victory nonetheless. This victory however was short-lived: to date the California Department of Fish & Game continues to issue permits, and the Commission appears powerless to stop them.

So long as there are politicians and constituents who do not know or care about the problems frogs face, it will be incredibly difficult to SAVE THE FROGS!. Thus I wrote Assemblywoman Fiona Ma’s office to request a meeting with Ms. Ma. As she had spoken out against the importation ban, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she agreed to a 45-minute meeting at which I would give a presentation on amphibian conservation. On Wednesday May 19th, 2011 I arrived at her office in downtown San Francisco and was happy to see a room full of 35-40 of her interns awaiting my presentation. Most of them were high schoolers, a few were college students. Ms. Ma arrived and I gave my usual talk on the threats to frogs, why frogs are important, ways normal people can save frogs, and the work I do with SAVE THE FROGS!. Fiona and the interns made Striped Marsh Frog Calls. I discussed the non-natives issue and requested that Ms. Ma not block frog legislation in the future, or even better that she speak to the other 5 politicians about the issue or introduce pro-frog legislation.

At the end of my presentation, Ms. Ma explained to her interns why she had opposed the ban. She said her constituents like eating frogs, and the pet industry should also have been targeted but was not, and thus the frog legs ban was unfair. She spoke of making hard decisions and the difficulties pleasing all parties when one is a politician. We agreed that the best way to save the frogs — while keeping the vote of the Asian community and getting new votes from the non-Asian community — is to ensure that everybody is educated about frogs and the environment. Ms. Ma and I thanked each other and she left for her next meeting. I stayed for another 15 minutes taking questions from the interns, who were all very interested in frog conservation, especially with regards to the politics of saving frogs.

Will Assemblywoman Ma vote for the frogs in the future? I’m not sure, but I know she will understand the issues and think twice before speaking out against pro-frog legislation. And I have no doubt she will be surrounded by interns who like frogs – and that they may be her opposition one day if she doesn’t do her best to SAVE THE FROGS!

“Hi Kerry, thank you so much for your willingness to talk to all of us interns! I know I and many others really enjoyed it and were inspired by your dedication and passionate work towards saving the frogs. What type of work could I get involved in helping SAVE THE FROGS? Again, thanks so much for your time and inspiring work!” — Lyla Wilton, Marin Academy

Educating San Francisco’s Students
In cooperation with Tree Frog Treks and the San Francisco Tadpole Headstart Program, SAVE THE FROGS! is giving educational presentations on frogs at elementary schools throughout the San Francisco area. We have already been to four schools and plan to visit 15 more this fall. By educating the next generation about the importance of frogs and by inspiring them to care for the planet, we will ensure that politicians will not need to decide between voting for the environment and pleasing their constituents: the choice will be simple, since their constituents will be predominantly supportive of environmental conservation efforts.

About the American Bullfrog
The American Bullfrog is North America’s largest frog. It is a voracious predator capable of eating California Red-Legged Frogs, bats, ducks and even 33-inch garter snakes. Bullfrogs are native to the eastern USA and Canada, but are farmed worldwide for use as frog legs. The crowded conditions at the farms are perfect for the growth and spread of chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), causative agent of chytridiomycosis, which has driven up to 100 amphibian species to complete extinction worldwide in recent decades. A recent study estimated that 62% of the bullfrogs entering California from Asian frog farms are infected with the chytrid fungus. Bullfrogs serve as perfect vectors for fungus, as the frogs can survive infection loads of millions of chytrid zoospores. Because the infected frogs don’t die from the fungus, they are able to spread the pathogen to native amphibian populations. Though some from the pet and food industries claim the fungus cannot get to native populations, this is incorrect: bullfrogs regularly escape or get set free into the wild, and the water in which they are held gets set out into the environment every time it is flushed down the drain.