Download Brown AmphConsEd

Amphibian
Conservation
Education Project:
Bridging the Gap
between Citizen
Scientists and
Bench Scientists
What is the Amphibian Crisis?
 Over 6,000 species of frogs, toads, newts,
salamanders & caecilians in the world
 First comprehensive assessment of amphibian
populations conducted in 2004 by IUCN
 Concluded that 2,000-3,000 are threatened with
extinction
Why are they disappearing?
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Habitat loss
Pollution
Climate change
Diseases
Invasive
species
 Over collection
Chytrid Fugus
 First detected in an African Clawed Frog,
Xenopus laevis in 1938
 African Clawed Frogs were transported
all over the world for use in human
pregnancy testing
 Fungus attacks the skin and affects
amphibians ability to
“breathe” through their skin
Why should people care?
Gastric-Brooding Toad
Rheobatrachus silus
 Act as exterminators
 Vital role in
ecosystem
 Indicators of
environmental health
 Aid in medical
research and the
pharmaceutical
industry
 Cultural importance
Benefits of Amphibian
Conservation Education Project
• Aid herpetologists with labor and time
intensive surveys
• Develop community stewardship
through teachers and students
• Creates awareness of ecological
concerns amphibians face
• Develop inquiry skills and apply skills
to science
Field Work
• Participants collect:
• Habitat description
• Water quality data
• GPS coordinates
• Pictures of the
specimen
• Swab samples to
test for chytrid
Making it relevant
 Omaha’s Zoo partnered with The Biofinity
Project
 Biofinity was able to quickly configure a user
friendly data repository for the Zoo
 Allows data and pictures to be easily
uploaded, stored and visually analyzed
 Allows students and herpetologists to track
where amphibian species and Chytrid
fungus are being found throughout the state
 Amphibian Database “Administrators” are
able to verify and edit data
Amphibian Database
 Biofinity created data fields specific to
amphibian project
Amphibian Database
 Google Maps allows students and
herpetologists to visually analyze data
Amphibian Database
 Students are able to upload pictures of
amphibians
 Allows herpetologists to confirm species
sightings
Project Future
 Continue training participants
 Introduce database to herpetologists and
gain feedback
 Possibly create different querying methods
for users
 Tool to search for amphibians that test positive
for Chytrid fungus
The Connection
 Through partnerships, OHDZ will
profoundly impact amphibian education
 OHDZ is creating partnerships with one
common goal; to preserve these species
so that future generations can
“Appreciate the Little Things”
Resources
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www.omahazoo.com
biofinity.unl.edu/biofinity/HDZ/amphibian/
www.saveafrog.org
www.globalamphibians.org
www.amphibians.org
www.amphibiaweb.org
References
IUCN, Conservation International and NatureServe. 2008. An Analysis
of Amphibians on the 2008 IUCN Red List
<www.iucnredlist.org/amphibians>. Downloaded on 8 September
2010.