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Amphibian Conservation Program

Enigmatic Declines

Amphibians—frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts—are vanishing. In fact, 42 percent of the world's 6,000 frog species are declining rapidly and are in danger of extinction in our lifetimes. Since 1980, 122 amphibian species are thought to have gone extinct, compared to just five bird species and no mammals over the same period. This is an unprecedented rate of species loss and deserves an unprecedented conservation response. Brian Gratwicke leads the National Zoo's response to this global extinction crisis.

Disease Threat

When amphibians started disappearing from protected areas, some people thought disease might be responsible for the mysterious declines. In 1999, National Zoo scientists working with a researcher at the University of Maine described a new amphibian chytrid fungus that causes the deadly amphibian skin disease chytridiomycosis.

Since then, our understanding of amphibian declines and this disease has improved greatly. Scientists now suspect that amphibian chytrid fungus originated in Southern Africa. African clawed frogs from this region, probably carriers of the disease, are popular lab animals and were exported around the world in the 1940s.

The spread of this disease in now thought to be responsible for amphibian extinctions on several continents, including gastric brooding frogs from Australia, golden coqui frogs from Puerto Rico, Wyoming toads, Monteverde golden toads from Costa Rica, and more than 70 species of colorful harlequin frogs from Central and South America.

Saving Amphibians

While there has been much research on declining amphibians, it is becoming clear that unless we take specific actions to save them, we will lose as many as half of all amphibian species on the planet. In response to this crisis, the National Zoo has embarked on a major amphibian conservation effort to stop the biodiversity loss. Our efforts have two primary focal areas:

  1. Preserving endangered Panamanian amphibians
  2. Conserving the unique biodiversity of Appalachian salamanders

Endangered Panamanian Amphibians

Chytrid fungus is spreading east from Western Panama and is causing massive amphibian declines. Scientists estimate that at least 50 species are at risk and in need of rescue. The National Zoo is home to a rescued breeding population of Panamanian golden frogs, a species that the chytrid fungus wiped out in the wild.

Appalachian Salamanders

The Appalachian region is a biodiversity hotspot for salamanders. Thirty-five endemic species of salamanders live there. (Endemic species are species that live in only one location and nowhere else in the world.) Yet we know very little about how to conserve this biodiversity treasure. The National Zoo monitors populations of highly endangered Shenandoah salamanders in the Shenandoah National Park, plans to create a captive breeding facility for Appalachian salamanders.

Salamander education and monitoring programs at the Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal teach critical math and science skills to students in the field.

Read a recent report about Appalachian salamander conservation.

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