Killer Fungus Threatens Amphibians, Siberian Tiger Numbers in Serious Decline

November 25th, 2009

Not often do you get two stories in the same week about threats to more than one species. Unfortunately this week we have it. One because of nature, and one that is significantly impacted by us.

First, the one under heat from nature. Amphibians, like frogs have been around for more than 360 million years. They have survived more than their fair share of Earthly troubles. Now a new killer fungus is threatening to make many of them extinct.

The fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd),was found to be associated with waves of amphibian extinctions in Central America and north-eastern Australia in the 1990’s. Bd infects over 350 amphibian species by penetrating their skin, but little else is known about where it came from and how it causes disease.

The earliest published record of Bd is from a specimen of an African clawed frog in 1938 from South Africa. Around this time there was a huge trade in clawed frogs when they were used in one of the earliest human pregnancy tests. The global exportation of the clawed frog is likely to have spread Bd around the world. The infection is spread by fungal spores released into the water supply from imported infected animals.

Now on to the Siberian Tiger. A species that we have all but eliminated ourselves. Not just from habitat loss, but from poaching. The odds of seeing one of these again is unlikely unless it is a cardboard display.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced a report revealing that the last remaining population of Siberian tigers has likely declined significantly due to the rising tide of poaching and habitat loss.

WCS says the report will help inform Russian officials of what needs to be done to protect remaining populations of the world’s biggest cat.

“The sobering results are a wake-up call that current conservation efforts are not going far enough to protect Siberian tigers,” said Dr. Dale Miquelle, of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russian Far East Program. “The good news is that we believe this trend can be reversed if immediate action is taken.”

“Working with our Russian partners we are hopeful and confident that we can save the Siberian tiger,” said Dr. John G. Robinson, WCS Executive Vice President for Conservation and Science. “The Siberian tiger is a living symbol for the people of Russia.”