wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
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BBC (London, UK) 14 February 08 Toad-killing bug found in ponds
A project is under way to discover if a potentially deadly amphibian disease is a threat to UK frogs, newts and toads after it was found in Cumbria.
Scores of volunteers are being trained to assess the threat of the fungal disease, which has already been found in a few ponds in the county.
Experts claim a third of the world's amphibian species are under threat from chytrid disease.
It was found at six sites in Cumbria last year, Natural England said.
Now Natural England, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Herpetological Conservation Trust have trained volunteers to assess the threat of the fungal disease.
The chytrid disease affects the skins of the animals, which they breathe through, and effectively suffocates them.
It has only emerged recently, although some scientists believe it has been around for some time and has only begun to have devastating effects as a result of climate change.
Natural England's amphibian specialist Jim Foster said finding the fungus in Cumbria was "grim news" after hearing about population crashes elsewhere, such as in Australia and Spain.
He said: "What we do not want is a situation like in Australia where whole species have gone extinct."
Around 170 volunteers have already been trained to survey amphibian life by taking swabs from the skin of the animals without harming them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7244255.stm
Paperboy note: For more details on this effort, please see Mark’s posting at: http://caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?p=139746#post139746
A project is under way to discover if a potentially deadly amphibian disease is a threat to UK frogs, newts and toads after it was found in Cumbria.
Scores of volunteers are being trained to assess the threat of the fungal disease, which has already been found in a few ponds in the county.
Experts claim a third of the world's amphibian species are under threat from chytrid disease.
It was found at six sites in Cumbria last year, Natural England said.
Now Natural England, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Herpetological Conservation Trust have trained volunteers to assess the threat of the fungal disease.
The chytrid disease affects the skins of the animals, which they breathe through, and effectively suffocates them.
It has only emerged recently, although some scientists believe it has been around for some time and has only begun to have devastating effects as a result of climate change.
Natural England's amphibian specialist Jim Foster said finding the fungus in Cumbria was "grim news" after hearing about population crashes elsewhere, such as in Australia and Spain.
He said: "What we do not want is a situation like in Australia where whole species have gone extinct."
Around 170 volunteers have already been trained to survey amphibian life by taking swabs from the skin of the animals without harming them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/7244255.stm
Paperboy note: For more details on this effort, please see Mark’s posting at: http://caudata.org/forum/showthread.php?p=139746#post139746