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B.C. frogs threatened by imported fungus
Species on verge of being wiped out

Bob Keating
Special to The Province

February 9, 2005

NELSON -- A deadly fungus is threatening to wipe out the northern leopard frog, once one of the most common species in the West.

The frogs are so close to disappearing in B.C. that biologists are considering rearing them in zoos.

"We're close to losing them," said biologist Doug Adama. "It's very disheartening."

Northern leopard frogs -- named after their distinctive spots -- used to range all over southeastern B.C., from the Alberta boundary to the Okanagan. But by 2000 they could be found only in the fertile marshes of the Creston Valley. A recovery team was set up in Creston and $250,000 spent trying to bring them back.

"Over the last few years a number of partners have worked together to try to rebuild stocks," said Wayne Stetski, who has helped with the program. "The situation is of great concern."

Initially, the recovery team had some success painstakingly rearing, transplanting and monitoring leopard frogs at a special centre set up in marshes near Creston. But in the last few years the numbers have again crashed.

"Last year we found four frog egg masses, in 2000 we had 16," says Adama. "That means we may have as few as four breeding pairs."

Biologists blame a fungus known as chytrid that originated in Africa. In the 1940s and '50s, African clawed frogs were used in North America for human pregnancy testing and laboratory experiments, and they have also been kept as pets. Chytrid fungus infects the skin of the frogs, preventing them from breathing or absorbing water properly. It is fairly simple to treat but catching and treating wild frogs is almost impossible.

"It might prevent us from recovering the species," said Adama. "We are starting to look at establishing populations in zoos."

The recovery team is not giving up but it is concluding its five-year project in Creston and considering what to do next.

"It's hard to watch them decline like this," said Adama. "There is the obvious intrinsic value of wildlife, but it also highlights the vulnerability of many species to emerging infectious diseases."
© The Vancouver Province 2005