Science Moves to Protect Frogs From Extinction
Scientists and veterinarians met in San Diego, in February 2009, to protect amphibian species threatened with extinction by the chytrid fungus. Chytrid is already associated with declines in amphibian populations in Central America and Australia and is spreading quickly in the wild.
The photograph is of the critically endangered Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zetecki) which communicates by waving its hands because, unlike other frogs, it has no eardrums.
Chytridiomycosis (cytrid) is an infectious disease of amphibians, caused by the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a non-hyphal zoosporic fungus. The skin of infected frogs thickens and interferes with its ability to absorb water and electrolytes. Frogs in the wild which are already in danger of extinction from habitat loss, the pet trade, and climate change now face this additional threat.
