Saving the Panamanian Golden Frog

Female Panama Golden frog (Atelopus zeteki). Photo: Brian Gratwicke / Smithsonian Institute for Preservation Biology

Although the global amphibian crisis is the result of habitat loss, climate change and pollution, the deadly amphibian fungus mold fungus plays an important role in this and the disappearance of other species.

Scientists at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Laboratory work to save Panama's golden frog and other amphibians. Through the Panama Smithsonian Tropical Laboratory and its partners, they are nurturing and maintaining the healthy and lively populations of the world's most endangered frogs.

This project is currently developing a guaranteed population for 12 species of frogs (a way to keep seeds alive and to be reintroduced outdoors). This is the theme of the next Earth Optimism Summit. On the weekend of Earth Day, the Smithsonian Institute will discuss more than 150 scientists, ideological leaders, philanthropists, environmentalists and citizen leaders and discuss the content of conservation activities, how to expand and replicate.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Before the fungus spread to the habitat of Panama 's golden frog, the conservation groups gathered Panama' s golden frogs and put them in captured living - support colonies. The amphibian skin is the host of many resident bacterial communities, and in some amphibians it functions as a defense against pathogens. Researchers sequenced the wild captured Panama goldfrog from the same population and the captured pancreatic goldfrog bacterial community and assessed how long-term capture affected the crowd. The species abundance, phylogenetic diversity and community structure of the skin microbial flora were found to be significantly different between wild panama and captive Panama golden frog. But after being imprisoned for about eight years, the descendants of the original captive Panama gold frog shared 70% of the wild frogs and microbial communities.

Scientists at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Laboratory work to save Panama's golden frog and other amphibians. Through the Panama Smithsonian Tropical Laboratory and its partners, they are breeding and maintaining the healthy and lively populations of the world's most endangered frogs. This project is currently developing a guaranteed population for 12 species of frogs (a way to keep seeds alive and to be reintroduced outdoors). This is the theme of the next Earth Optimism Summit. On the weekend of Earth Day, the Smithsonian Institute will discuss more than 150 scientists, ideological leaders, philanthropists, environmentalists and citizen leaders and discuss the content of conservation activities, how to expand and replicate.