From Save the Frogs
Chytrid Fungus has driven nearly 100 amphibian species to complete extinction
Sacramento, CA – 17-September-2010. With many of America’s amphibian species
facing imminent extinction, the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) took a large
step today towards controlling the spread of a deadly chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis) that has been decimating amphibian populations worldwide in
recent years. The USFWS announced a proposal to list amphibians as “injurious
wildlife” under the Lacey Act unless they are certified free of the chytrid
fungus, which causes a potentially lethal skin disease called chytridiomycosis.
The proposal, if approved, is expected to significantly reduce the spread of
chytridiomycosis, as it would require that amphibians entering the country be
certified free of the disease. Currently there are few regulations in place
regarding the testing or quarantine of amphibians, even though tens of millions
of amphibians enter the United States each year to supply the massive pet, food,
and laboratory trades. It is thought that the fungus spreads when imported
amphibians escape or are set free into the wild, or when the water they were
held in is flushed into the environment.
“The new government proposal is fabulous news for frogs, toads, newts and
salamanders, which have been rapidly declining in numbers throughout the United
States”, says Dr. Kerry Kriger, the Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS, a
nonprofit dedicated to protecting amphibian populations. “Many of our native
amphibian species have little or no resistance to the chytrid fungus. Since
there is no known way to eradicate the disease from the wild, we have to keep it
from spreading to new populations, and that’s what this proposal intends to do”.
One-third of the world’s amphibian species are endangered, and the spread of
chytrid fungus is one of the most serious issues amphibians face. In California,
the yellow-legged frogs and Yosemite toads have been driven to near extinction
by the fungus. In Colorado, most of Rocky Mountain National Park’s boreal toads
disappeared in the late 1990’s when the fungus arrived. The fungus also caused
mass die-offs of several of Arizona’s leopard frog species. Amphibians are also
faced with other environmental problems, including climate change, pollution,
habitat loss, invasive species, and over-harvesting for the pet and food trades.
The Fish & Wildlife Service is accepting comments on the proposal through
December 16th. You can find more information about the proposal:
http://www.savethefrogs.com/chytrid/usfws-notice-of-inquiry-chytrid.html
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