Author Archives: Susan

07/30/11

Frogs Legs: Worldwide Consumption Contributing to their Extinction

Eating frogs legs is a bit of a joke to Americans. Most of us would never consider eating them. Yet we need to take this very real threat to frogs seriously.

A recent article in Scientific American, “How Eating Frogs Legs Is Causing Frog Extinctions,”* listed some pretty amazing statistics:

  • Over two thousand metric tons of frog legs are imported into the U.S. each year. Another two thousand metric tons of live frogs are imported every year for sale in Asian-American markets.
  • The European Union imports an annual average of 4,600 metric tons of frog legs, mostly to Belgium (53 percent), France (23 percent) and the Netherlands (17 percent), the equivalent of about one billion frogs.

The numbers in the Scientific American article come from a recent report, “Canapés to Extinction: The International Trade in Frogs’ Legs and Its Ecological Impact” (pdf), released on July 26 by the wildlife conservation groups Pro Wildlife, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute.

According to Alejandra Goyenechea, acting director of international conservation programs for Defenders of Wildlife:

Humans have been eating frogs for ages. But today the practice is not sustainable on a global scale. Billions of frogs are traded internationally each year for human consumption, and that industry is responsible for depleting wild populations, spreading deadly disease, and allowing invasive species to destroy the health of native ecosystems.

This huge demand for frogs legs is contributing to frog extinctions for two reasons:

  • Too many frogs, collected from the wild, are depleting natural populations
  • The international trade in frogs legs and live frogs is the major reason for the spread of the deadly chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), which has already been blamed for amphibian extinctions around the globe.

According to the report, most frog and frog leg imports to the U.S. come from China, Taiwan, Ecuador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Mexico and Indonesia. One of the species farmed is the Bullfrog, an American native species that has spread around the world. But Bullfrogs are one of the most notorious carriers of the chytrid fungus. According to Save the Frogs, as quoted in the SciAm article:

A recent study estimated that 62 percent 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.

Bullfrogs are usually resistant to the chytrid fungus and rarely, if ever, die from exposure to it. Most other amphibian species have an 80 percent mortality rate when exposed to the fungus.

Exact statistics on which species are being imported and eaten are incomplete, because most imports are already skinned, processed and frozen, making them hard to identify.

The three organizations behind this report are now calling for increased regulation of the frog trade under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). That agency has the authority to restrict some hunting and harvesting, create humane standards for frog handling and killing, set monitoring criteria for wild populations, and require that all imported meat be frozen, which would slow the spread of disease.

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked for public comments on a proposal to ban the import of live frogs under the Lacey Act, which regulates the import or transport of wildlife species that are either dangerous to humans or the environment. The public comment period ended in December, but so far there is no word yet on if the proposal will become law.

For more information:

*Information from this post comes from:

Scientific American, “How Eating Frogs Legs Is Causing Frog Extinctions

Defenders of Wildlife: Amphibians in Crisis

Save the Frogs: The Problem with Frogs Legs

07/19/11

Rare Rainbow Toad Rediscovered after 80 Years

Conservation International has announced the rediscovery in Malaysian Borneo of a vanished amphibian: the long-legged Borneo rainbow toad. Below is one of the first photographs ever of this long-legged brightly colored toad.

Photo © Indraneil Das, courtesy Conservation International

Inspired by Conservation International’s (CI) Global Search for Lost Amphibians, scientists with support from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak found three individuals of the missing toad species, up a tree during a night time search after months of scouring remote forests.

The Sambas Stream Toad, or Bornean Rainbow Toad (Ansonia latidisca) was last seen in 1924. Prior to the rediscovery,  the mysterious and long-legged toad was known only by illustrations. The rare toad was listed by Conservation International as one of the World’s 10 Most Wanted Lost Frogs, in a global campaign to seek out amphibians that have not been seen in a decade or longer.

Dr. Indraneil Das of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and his team searched at night along the high rugged ridges of the Gunung Penrissen range of Western Sarawak. They did not find the elusive toad after searching for several months, but the team didn’t give up. Dr. Das eventually changed his team’s strategy to include higher elevations and they resumed the search. Pui Yong Min, one of Dr Das’s graduate students, found a small toad up a tree.  When he realized it was the long-lost toad, Dr. Das expressed relief at the discovery:

Thrilling discoveries like this beautiful toad, and the critical importance of amphibians to healthy ecosystems, are what fuel us to keep searching for lost species. They remind us that nature still holds precious secrets that we are still uncovering, which is why targeted protection and conservation is so important. Amphibians are indicators of environmental health, with direct implications for human health. Their benefits to people should not be underestimated.

Amphibian specialist Dr. Robin Moore of Conservation International, who launched the Global Search for Lost Amphibians to raise awareness of the serious plight of the world’s declining amphibian populations, also expressed disbelief when Das shared the good news. As he said, “It is good to know that nature can surprise us when we are close to giving up hope, especially amidst our planet’s escalating extinction crisis. “

The Global Search for Lost Amphibians, launched by Conservation International (CI) and the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG), with support from Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), sought to document the survival status and whereabouts of threatened species of amphibians which they had hoped were holding on in a few remote places.

The search  took place between August and December 2010 in 21 countries, on five continents, and involved 126 researchers. It represented a pioneering effort to coordinate and track such a large number of “lost” amphibians. The goal was to establish whether populations have survived increasing pressures such as habitat loss, climate change, and disease, and to help scientists better understand what is behind the amphibian crisis.

After 80 years, the rainbow toad is most definitely ready for his/her close up:

Photo © Indraneil Das, courtesy Conservation International

Read more about Conservation International’s Search for Lost Frogs.

07/13/11

Roundup: A Threat to Frogs—and Humans?

At FROGS ARE GREEN, we have been concerned for some time about the weedkiller, Roundup, manufactured by Mosanto, because of studies that have shown birth defects and reproductive deformities occurring in animals, including frogs, after exposure to its active ingredient, the chemical glyphosate. A new review of scientific reports about Roundup by the organization Open Source Earth suggests that that glyphosate may cause birth defects in humans as well.

If you drive to your local Wal-Mart or Home Depot, you might see huge canisters of the weedkiller outside the store for lawn and garden use.  Roundup is one of the most common weedkillers in the U.S., used for agricultural as well as non-agricultural uses.

Soybean field, courtesy USDA

Yet there have been increasing concerns about the safety of the herbicide for years. One study,  for example, conducted by Argentine government scientist, Andres Carrasco, published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology in 2010, found that glyphosate causes malformations in frog and chicken embryos at doses far lower than those used in agricultural spraying. The study also noted these malformations were similar to human birth defects found in genetically modified soy-producing regions. Carrasco suspected that the toxicity classification of glyphosate was too low and that in some cases, this chemical could be a powerful poison.

How has glyphosate been regulated in the U.S.? Not very stringently it seems. According to the Huffpo article, regulators in the United States have said they are aware of the concerns surrounding glyphosate. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is required to reassess the safety and effectiveness of all pesticides on a 15-year cycle through a process called registration review, is currently examining the compound.

According to a statement given to the Huffington Post, the EPA initiated a registration review of glyphosate in July 2009. It will determine if their previous assessments of this chemical need to be revised based on the results of this review. It issued a notice to the company Monsanto to submit human health and ecotoxicity data in September 2010.

The EPA said it will also review information and data from other independent researchers, including Earth Open Source.

This sounds like a pretty flabby response to a serious issue. Imagine if in the early 1960s the response to the threats of DDT was so wishy-washy? We hope the EPA takes a much closer look at the most widely used weedkiller in the U.S.

*Most of the information in this post is from the Huffington Post report, “Roundup: Birth Defects Caused By World’s Top-Selling Weedkiller, Scientists Say,” by Lucia Graves.

06/30/11

Make Way for Turtles

This Fourth of July, you might get stuck in traffic jams or have plane delays due to afternoon thunderstorms or may experience some travel mishaps. If you were flying into New York City yesterday, however, you might have had another kind of delay: terrapins on the runway.

I saw this story last night on the Rachel Maddow show and read about it in the New York Times (the readers’ comments are fun, too).

The diamondback terrapins of New York City (and especially those in Queens) are on a different schedule than us, but it’s just as important. Terrapins spend almost all of their time in salt marsh creeks and estuaries until it is time to mate. From mid-June to mid-July they gather off nesting beaches to mate. After mating, the females wait for several days for the eggs to mature. Then the females must leave the safety of the estuarine waters to search for a nest site in the dunes.

Even the runway of one of the busiest airports in the world, JFK International airport, will not stop these females from crossing and finding a place to lay their eggs.

Yesterday wildlife specialists from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey removed about 100 diamondback terrapins from Runway 4 Left at around 10 am.

Some flights were delayed for up to 30 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, but not too many flights were delayed because this runway isn’t often used this time of year because of seasonal prevailing-wind patterns.

The wildlife specialists relocated the turtles to an ideal place on the other side of the runway where they can lay their eggs.

As quote in the New York Time article, Allen Gosser, assistant state director for New York wildlife service for the department, said, “We just take them to a part of the airport where they can keep traveling west, but in a safe direction.” Kennedy Airport is largely surrounded by water, and diamondback terrapins breed in and around Jamaica Bay. The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is an important nesting and breeding area for the terrapins.

After the turtles have been relocated to their nesting area, the females will search for just the right nesting spot, well above high tide mark, so that the nest will not get inundated with water. She sniffs and digs the sand with her webbed back feet, looking for the best place to lay her eggs.

Finally when she finds the perfect spot, she digs for an hour, deposits ten white oval leathery eggs, and then covers the nest with her hind legs.

Diamondback terrapin laying eggs (courtesy of NRDC)

She smooths out the sand, hiding any signs of the nest. She then quickly returns to the surf. The eggs take about sixty to eighty days to hatch. They face many predators before and after they hatch (racoons, for example, dig them up) but about ten percent will survive.

Kudos to the Port Authority and for helping the terrapins get to their important destination on time!

Note: Information about diamondback nesting is from 25 Nature Spectacles in New Jersey, by Joanna Burger and Michael Gochfield, Rutgers University Press.

06/24/11

Country Frog, City Frog

If you live in the city and you hear a strange new noise this summer, it might be a gray tree frog that’s moved to your neighborhood. According to an article by Sharon Woods Harris in the Pekin (Ill) Daily Times,  tree frogs are moving to the city because of recent high rains, which have left pools of water that are like vernal pools: females can lay their eggs in the pools without fear of fish eating them.

Gray tree frogs are typically found in woodsy, wet areas, but this year they’ve been found hanging out on decks and crawling up the sides of houses. The gray tree frog is a good climber—it can scale glass with the use of its enlarged toe pads. It catches insects and other invertebrates for food so street lamps or other city lights are great bug-catching places.

Gray Tree Frog, courtesy of Gardening to Distraction

The scientific name for gray tree frogs is Hyla versicolor: they camouflage themselves by changing colors from gray to green, and are typically no larger than 1.5 to 2 in (3.8 to 5.1 cm).

Gray tree frogs can be found in most of the eastern half of the United States, as far west as central Texas. They can also be found in Canada in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, and New Brunswick.

Once the heavy heat of July comes and the water dries up, the frogs will probably return to cooler, moist areas. In the meantime, if you live in the city, keep your ears open for the distinctive trill of the male tree frog calling for a mate.

06/17/11

Father's Day 2011 – 7 Ways to Enjoy Nature with Your Kids

A couple of years ago, we received an email from a reader named Marty who lives in in Eastern Pennsylvania (Lehigh County) one hour south of the Pocono Mountains.  Here’s part of the email:

On of the best things I can do as a Dad is to teach my children to preserve these treasures [frogs and salamanders] that are so dear to me. My grandfather taught me the love of wild places and I want to pass that on to them.

I wish more dads were thinking about how they could introduce nature to kids. My sons are in their twenties and still love learning about wildlife and animals. I think most of this love of nature came from their dad. So I’m offering a few suggestions. But we’d like to open this up to readers of Frogs Are Green and get your ideas also. How did your father encourage your love of nature? What are you doing as a dad to instill a love of nature in your kids?

photo by Mary Jo Rhodes

Here are some ideas:

1. Take them on short hikes or walks into the woods, starting when they are very young. (Here is a list of state parks). Young children need no encouragement to love nature—everything around them is still magical and interesting (bugs, stones, flowers).  The key is to keep taking them on walks in the woods (or fishing, hiking, or whatever) throughout their childhood, even when they start saying it’s boring (the preteen years). You might have to add other incentives during the rougher times (a trip to an ice cream store afterwards or some other treat).

2. Your child might start to like one animal and that may become their animal. Encourage this by buying books about the animal, plush toys, trips to see the animal in the wild or in zoos or aquariums.

3. Adopting a wild animals from (from the World Wildlife Fund or other organizations, for for $25 or so will give your child a personal connection to animals.

4. Plan family vacations around national parks rather than amusement parks. We’ve visited a number of national parks over the years. These are fun because the trails through them are easy and well worn, there’s a certain familiarity to them (the park rangers, the gift shops, etc), and the scenery is spectacular. Your child can become a Junior Ranger and collect badges and get certificates etc.

5. Share your enthusiasm about nature, but don’t be too heavy handed about it. If kids feel you are always teaching them, they might get turned off. Instead, share your sense of wonder. Point out a cardinal (look at that red bird!), but don’t turn it into a lesson about birds.

6. The National Wildlife Federation has ideas about enjoying nature with children, including setting up a tent in your backyard and sleeping outside. You can join their Great American Backyard Campout on June 25, 2011. I camped out a few times as a kid in my suburban backyard (without the tent), and loved it. If you’re lucky enough to live in a place far from cities, you can stargaze with your children, pointing out a few constellations.

7.  As far as our amphibians friends… the best places that we’ve found to see them are state parks or wildlife refuges. Unlike Marty, we live in an urban area and it’s tough to find amphibians in a region where all the land has been developed and the swamps have been turned into strip malls. But state parks and wildlife refuges that have been left untouched, with ponds and swamps, are great places to see them. Tell your kids to look out for frogs, toads, and salamanders. Kids are closer to the ground and have sharper eyes and will most likely see them before you do.

Dads: Please send along your ideas for introducing kids to nature!

Happy Father’s Day!