Yesterday was “Women in Science Day” and I just wanted to take a moment to recognize Katie Garrett because she’s extremely humble and I believe her work deserve much more attention. She’s a filmmaker, biologist, photographer, artist, and an inspiration to me. Most of her work involves the creation of visually intimate stories to connect people with nature, and I feel this is now more important than ever, in a world where people are becoming less connected every day.
I deeply believe we need to keep reinventing ways to help people become excited, curious, and reattached to nature, and that’s precisely what Katie has been doing through visual storytelling. She just started a new website where you can easily see all her recent productions in one place. Please take a look!
Click here: http://www.katiegarrett.co.uk/film And if you have a few minutes to watch a couple, leave her a comment on this post and tell her which one you liked the most.
Katie is currently looking for new stories to tell, so if you’re interested in commissioning her work, please contact her at katieggarrett@gmail.com
Have you ever seen such an adorable frog politely waiting for your attention? This critically endangered Exquisite Spike-thumb Frog (Plectrohyla exquisita) is one of the species that I’m working to save from extinction caused by chytrid fungus. If you’re interested in supporting my conservation work, please visit https://www.patreon.com/MyFrogCroaked and share this post. Thanks so much!!
Jonathan Kolby presenting to children at National Geographic
With your help, I can spend more time creating films, books & presentations to help children (and adults!) fall in love with nature. Please visit https://www.patreon.com/MyFrogCroaked for more information!
Director, Honduras Amphibian Rescue & Conservation Center
Today, a study was published in Science that painted a bleak picture for the future of the world’s amphibians: ‘Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity.” Watch this video summary produced by Katie Garrett and myself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJme6rIBYys&feature=youtu.be
In brief, this study describes the shocking results of a re-evaluation of the damage caused by amphibian chytrid fungus and shows that over TWICE as many species are at risk of decline and extinction than previously estimated by scientists, bringing that number up to 501 from approximately 200 species estimated in 2007. The uncontrolled spread of chytrid is now causing the most severe disease-driven loss of biodiversity in recorded history, and is largely contributing towards a global mass extinction event. And to make matters worse, this only takes into account the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, while North America remains threatened by a potential future invasion by the salamander chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans.
As a co-author on this paper, many people have been asking me questions about this body of work and whether there’s any hope for amphibians. Here are some of my answers to the most frequent questions that I’d like to share with everyone:
Madagascar Bright-eyed Frog (Boophis rappiodes) by Jonathan Kolby
How is chytrid spreading?
This was the central topic of my PhD thesis at James Cook University. We’re not exactly sure how chytrid was able to spread between continents 100+ years ago, but today, the primary activity causing chytrid to spread and generate new disease outbreaks is the international wildlife trade. Millions of live frogs are shipped around the world every year. About half of them are eaten by people (e.g. bullfrogs sold for frog legs) and the other half are sold as exotic pets. Many of these animals carry chytrid fungus, as well as ranavirus, and potentially other pathogens as well.
If chytrid is primarily spreading through the wildlife trade, how does it arrive in remote areas, like mountains and rainforests, where there is no frog trade?
This is still a big mystery, especially since chytrid cannot survive drying out or exposure to elevated temperatures for extended periods of time. A few years ago, my research team detected the presence of chytrid in rainwater, so it’s very possible that chytrid can spread in the wind to remote areas, and from mountain top to mountain top during severe weather events. For example, if a hurricane with 60 mph winds blow through a rainforest with frogs dripping chytrid spores into water droplets that become aerosolized, then perhaps chytrid could be carried and dropped 60 miles away before the storm subsides. More research is needed, but I believe it’s unlikely that viable chytrid can spread in the wind for very long distances, and this is why biosecurity is still sorely needed to prevent transcontinental spread. Once you allow that to happen, and trade moves infected animals around the world in just a few days, then there becomes many more opportunities for chytrid to spread short distances and quickly become difficult to control.
Why do frogs matter?
Many kinds of tadpoles are herbivorous and eat plant matter found in bodies of water. If the amphibians were to disappear, a large portion of this material would decompose, fouling the clean water that many people and wildlife depend on. Meanwhile, some are carnivorous, and control populations of mosquitoes and other insects, which can spread tropical diseases to humans like malaria, zika, and dengue. Amphibians are often very abundant where they live, and thus provide a source of food for many other species including birds and mammals. If amphibians disappear, other animals are likely to suffer and may have difficulty adapting to other food sources. Everything in nature is connected, and many parts are especially connected to amphibians due to their time spent both on land and in the water.
Are you still optimistic about the future of frogs?
Absolutely! I hope this paper convinces people to finally recognize how truly severe this disease event has become and that now, more than ever, we need to take a stand for amphibians. While we can certainly save some species from extinction, others won’t be so lucky. My optimism lies in knowing that this biological catastrophe presents an incredible learning opportunity to discover ways to prevent this from happening again, as caused by the international wildlife trade. Although I really do love frogs, I also see this issue from a much larger perspective — to me, it’s not just about frogs. It’s about the consequences of rapid globalization without rapidly developing new policies and regulations to minimize the damages it can cause—like the spread of pathogens that were previously isolated in one corner of the world. Diseases caused by chytrid and ranavirus are now spreading like wildfire. There is so much we can learn from our past mistakes to protect wildlife in the future, and I would love to be the person to step into this complex arena at the intersection of science and policy to help fix things. I’ve already developed a policy proposal that could drastically reduce the spread of chytrid overnight and I’m looking for an outlet that would like to publish it so that our data can help others interested in promoting a cleaner wildlife trade.
Will things get worse?
It depends on the choice we make right now. Unless we develop and implement policies to control the spread of chytrid as soon as possible, and reduce the likelihood that another hybrid event will create a deadlier strain of chytrid, then we could very well face another global wave of disease, which could be similar, different, or even worse than the one we’re facing now.
I’ve been studying pathways of amphibian chytrid fungus (Bd) dispersal since 2011, in an effort to better understand this global amphibian biodiversity crisis and identify opportunities to help control and prevent future pathogen spread. Although I’ve devoted a great deal of my research towards the most significant driver of pathogen spread – the international wildlife trade – I’m equally fascinated by the enigmatic spread of Bd in areas far from the obvious influence of human activities. These instances, such as the introduction of Bd to the alpine mountains of Kosciusko National Park in Australia, and to the cloud forest of Cusuco National Park in Honduras, have led me to also search for invisible and indirect modes of Bd dispersal.
In 2013, I detected the presence of Bd in rainwater at my research site in Honduras (you can read that paper here). I hypothesized that the most likely source of this was a waterfall, spewing out clouds of Bd-positive river water mist made available for crosswinds and convection to precipitate it elsewhere in the forest. I likewise reasoned that a frog perched high up in a tree carrying a high load of Bd on its skin may be hit by raindrops that create tiny splashes containing Bd that could likewise become transorted by wind before landing on the ground…or possibly onto another frog. Because I used DNA analysis as the method to detect Bd in rainwater, I was unable to determine whether or not it was alive at the time of collection, but my goal was primarily to characterize whether atmospheric spread of Bd is possible. And my answer is yes.
A cloud of suspended river water floats around this waterfall’s plunge pool.
Now, I’m extremely excited by a study that was published last week by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, showing that the spread of viable microbes from the ground into the air could be a common phenomenon during rain events. This publication, “Bioaerosol generation by raindrops on soil“, describes a fascinating discovery that falling raindrops can catapult living microbes into the air through the action of popping bubbles that erupt from within a raindrop after impact. Each popping bubble provides an opportunity for biological agents captured from the soil to be catapulted into the air inside minuscule orbs of water as bioaerosols. The variety of soil type, raindrop velocity, and soil surface temperature are just a few of the many variables that affect the number of bubbles produced in each raindrop and the density of microbes incorporated into aerosols.
The reason why this new research fascinates me is because I believe it potentially illustrates a third mechanism (in addition to waterfall spray and rain splash) by which aerial Bd spread may occur: rain drop collision on Bd-contaminated terrestrial vegetation. In another previous study (see here), I found that 88.5% of recently metamorphosed frogs emerging from a river in Honduras were positive for Bd and 76.1% of these animals left detectable trails of Bd residue on the terrestrial vegetation where they rested. Considering these data together with those from the MIT research team, it seems plausible that raindrops falling onto these Bd-positive leaves (or even onto the Bd-positive frogs themselves) could also generate bubbles that burst and catapult a fine mist of Bd-laden aerosol into the air. Since strong winds are common during tropical storms at this field site in Honduras, there could be ample opportunities for these aerosols to be transported and deposited elsewhere.
If you were a frog perched near one of these Bd-positive leaves, a tiny cloud of Bd might drift your way as raindrops begin to collide with these surfaces. But don’t fret! Just as you infrequently fall ill amidst a daily gauntlet of city sneezers, the amount of Bd transferred this way is unknown and might not pose a big enough sneeze from Nature to frequently cause disease in nearby frogs. But then again, sometimes it might. Furthermore, as the global climate changes, new weather patterns may affect the frequency and consequence of atmospheric microbial transport. This certainly warrants further investigation! Stay tuned….
We had a great time showing our frog rescue film at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in New York City! Thanks to everyone who attended! If you weren’t able to make it and would like to see our film “Can we Save the Frog Prince“, just subscribe to our YouTube channel here: HARCC Frog Rescue on YouTube. We’ll upload the full video soon!
Jonathan Kolby and Brandon Greaves (our partner from the Henry Doorly Zoo) being interviewed after this world premiere showing. 🐸
Stay tuned for our next public appearance in a TV program called “The Explorers”!
This is our first film festival entry! Watch our trailer (HERE) and keep an eye onwww.FrogRescue.comfor announcements about when & where you can see it screened.
Summary: Amphibian chytrid fungus is a pathogen spreading around the world causing global amphibian declines and extinctions. Many species of frogs now face an uncertain future unless we act quickly to help them battle this disease. Our frog rescue team of the Honduras Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center (HARCC) is now racing to ensure the survival of three critically endangered species found in Cusuco National Park, a global biodiversity hotspot in northwestern Honduras. In 2007, we discovered chytrid in this rainforest and designed an ambitious frog rescue project to tackle this global conservation challenge. After years of preparation, watch as our journey begins!
Let’s end wildlife extinction!
Subscribe to the HARCC Frog Rescue channel for more video clips:http://bit.ly/22LcCsn
Over the past few weeks, I’ve added many new wildlife & landscape photos to my gallery here: Jonathan Kolby Photography. All sales help support my frog rescue center in Honduras. These photos can be purchased as prints, posters, coffee mugs, greeting cards, stickers, and more!
Thank you ALL for helping us reach our first crowdfunding goal to Save Frogs from Extinction! on Indiegogo. We’re so excited to give our project this important boost!
Now, we’re planning our next trip to Honduras to finish constructing the Honduras Amphibian Rescue & Conservation Center. The frog rescue laboratories are being developed inside these two ocean shipping containers that were just transported onto their permanent foundations at Lancetilla Botanical Garden in Tela, Honduras. Here’s what it looks like so far:
If you would like to receive my occasional email updates about the status of this frog rescue project, please visit www.FrogRescue.com and subscribe at the bottom of the page. You can also follow this blog!
Did you miss your chance to donate? Since we successfully reached our first fundraising goal for this long-term project, Indiegogo will allow us to continue accepting donations on the same page (see HERE) to help support ongoing operational costs at the frog rescue facility. Also, donations can always be made directly on our website HERE.
Thank you so much for caring about our efforts to build capacity in Honduras & protect biodiversity!
Why is this guy smiling? Because he’s featured on our new HARCC FrogRescue YouTube channel! Check it out to see a library of cool videos about the endangered frogs we’re racing to save and how we’re going to do it. Pictured above is the critically endangered Exquisite spike-thumb frog (Plectrohyla exquisita) endemic to our amphibian rescue site in Cusuco National Park, Honduras.
Watch our videos HERE, and subscribe to the channel to see new videos as we continue to add them. Enjoy & please share with anyone you think might also be interested!
Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, please visit our crowdfunding page (HERE) and help us if you can!
Jonathan Kolby and Brandon Greaves (our partner from the 
Jonathan Kolby 