Herps in the News: Alarm Over Vanishing Frogs in the Caribbean

Why are all the Frogs gone?

Figure taken from News article: "Alarm Over Vanishing Frogs in the Caribbean"

A husband and wife team of biologist is currently investigating the recent disappearances of the Coqui genus down in Puerto Rico. There has been reportedly 17 species within this genus and 3 are already considered extinct because no sightings or hearings of those species have been reported for some time. Many American college professors who have researched in this area for the frogs have stated within the article that the Caribbeans would have wonderful symphonies of frogs calling and basically singing all the time. Now, the sounds are not so dense and there is less chiming in to create the beautiful songs. This frightens the locals as well as Biologists. 

Alberto and Ana Lopez are currently trying to get to the bottom of this potential extinction and figure out how to prevent it. There are sadly many factors that attribute to the loss of so many of these frogs. Many are factors that have naturally already popped in your mind like: loss of habitat by destruction, deforestation or death by numerous predators. Diseases might have also come to mind. This is a new factor affecting the Caribbeans frogs. A particular disease is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis given the nickname "BD." Frogs have the ability to get rid of all the toxins they breathe in by kicking them out through their skins. This fungus more than likely prevents them from preforming this action which causes them to become frail and eventually die. However, not much is known at the moment about BD and scientific investigations are being conducted on it as I type.

Figure taken from News article: "Alarm Over Vanishing Frogs in the Caribbean"

The cute frog seen above is called a Rock Frog or Coqui guajon, for scientific nomenclature. This frog is only found in specific habitats on Puerto Rico. As stated by Ben Fox "It is what's known as a habitat specialist, found only in caves of a certain kind of volcanic rock along streams in southeastern Puerto Rico" (Fox, Lopez 2013). Alberto and Ana were sad to report that the frogs are now not found at all in some of the specific habitats on the island where they were all originally recorded at. They are just gone. Unfortunately, habitat relocation cannot attribute to their disappearance as it has already been stated that these frogs require the rock habitat specifically and only.

My personal feeling about this is just the same as Alberto's and Ana's feelings. These frogs are disappearing at an alarming rate and some with no indication as to what is making them disappear. Other species within the Coqui genus might be protected once the fungus is further tested and a solution is created with how to naturally protect these frogs from it. It is important to have frogs. They eat bugs which I'm sure is a great, welcomed help to all the locals and visitors coming in. These frogs are a huge part of the Caribbean culture so it is assuring to know there are specialists working on solving the mysteries of these frogs and taking the necessary precautions to keep them alive and well. Hopefully, Alberto and Ana find an answer soon.

If you want to read the article for yourself, just click here.

Work Cited:

Fox, B., & Lopez, E. A. (2013, April 10). Alarm Over Vanishing Frogs in the Caribbean - ABC News. ABCNews.com - Breaking News, Latest News & Top Video News - ABC News. Retrieved April 13, 2013, from http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/alarm-vanishing-frogs-caribbean-18925384#.UWmItqKOBNY