Amphibian Ark planned

Hi guys,



I found this article today and found it quite interesting:

ATLANTA - Ponds and swamps are becoming eerily silent. The familiar melody of ribbits, croaks and chirps is disappearing as a mysterious killer fungus wipes out frog populations around the globe, a phenomenon likened to the extinction of dinosaurs.

Scientists from around the world are meeting Thursday and Friday in Atlanta to organize a worldwide effort to stem the deaths by asking zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens to take in threatened frogs until the fungus can be stopped.

The aim of the group called Amphibian Ark is to prevent the world's more than 6,000 species of frogs, salamanders and wormlike sicilians from disappearing. Scientists estimate up to 170 species of frogs have become extinct in the past decade from the fungus and other causes, and an additional 1,900 species are threatened.

...

Amphibian Ark wants zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in each country to take in at least 500 frogs from a threatened species to protect them from the killer fungus, which is called chytrid fungus.

...

The fungus isn't the only thing that's deadly to amphibians — it's just killing them faster than development, pollution and global warming, said George Rabb, the retired head of the Chicago's Brookfield Zoo and a leader in Amphibian Ark. Scientists will have to closely monitor frog populations re-released into the wild once the fungus is eliminated, he said.

"Right now with global warming and the garbage heap we put in the atmosphere, there are going to be risks," said Rabb, one of the country's leading conservation scientists. "That's why we'll need people from other professional fields — epidemiology, climate change."
(By DORIE TURNER, Associated Press Writer)

I was thinking about the "seed ark" article posted earlier in this forum, and I wonder if we will eventually have to provide an ark of some kind for all of the animals on our planet?

I could just imagine vast libraries of botanical and animal species with holographic pictures of what they look like, as well as a description. Then of course, because my imagination is quite fertile ( ) ,I could imagine these libraries being found hundreds or thousands of years later by a people of the earth who are much more in tune with her workings.

It would be an awesome find. Then I wonder if it would be ok to re-introduce the different species of plants and animals, because they may be a threat to new more adaptable species that may have emerged. I know, my musings are far out there, but like I said, my imagination is quite active.

Does anyone else think that "arks" will be more common place in the future?


(p.s. Loam, I of borrowed your style of posting articles because I like the way it is presented. Hope you dont mind! )


[edit on 2/15/2007 by sylvrshadow]

Well, it makes me wonder if the recent deaths of the hives of bees may be related to some type of fungal diesease.

Frogs have been a concern for quite some time now. In the late nineties,there was an increasing rate of deformities and such in the frog population. I heard a recent theory that it may somehow be connected with mosquito sprays and such.

It is rather alarming that you cannot hardly find frogs anymore. Also, over the last 2-3 years birds seem to be becoming a rarer and rarer sight. Strange but true.

Hi SpeakerofTruth,

Now that you mention the birds and the bees (no pun intended there ), I was pondering whether or not thier disappearance was due to changes in the magnetic poles, since that both use that as well as other senses to travel on migrations or back to the hive.

I know that disease have alot to to do with it it also. The frogs, however, have definitely been having problems since the 90's as you have mentioned. The article mentioned that this ark is a temporary, immediate introvention to help halt the fungus before it does anymore harm, since the affect it is having is quite severe.

You know, I am happy that someone who can do something about what is happening is actually paying attention! I guess I have always worried that people would notice when it was far to late.

Originally posted by sylvrshadow


You know, I am happy that someone who can do something about what is happening is actually paying attention! I guess I have always worried that people would notice when it was far to late.

Unfortunately,sylvr, humanity drags its heels when it comes to doing anything about matters that need to be taken care of. Hamanity has "paid attention" to these issues for quite sometime and are just now beginning to aggressively do anything about it.

For example, Exxon Mobil, just last week, finally admitted the impact that greenhouse gases has on the environment. This has been something that has ben on the forefront for I know twenty years. Yet, Exxon, until last week denied any culpability and paid so-called "scientists" to "debunk" any theories about what greenhouse gases do to the environment.

Now, Exxon is saying something needs to be done. Well, too little, too late as far as I can tell. The damage has already been done.