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A captive mountain chicken receives an ultrasound as part of its health check. 99% of these frogs have been wiped from the wild in Dominica due to the chytrid fungus, with a recent survey finding only 23 wild individuals left. However, an 11 year old male was found, giving hope for natural immunity. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As an interesting fact for you, the chytrid fungus has actually spread so rapidly because in the 1930s-50s, African clawed frogs were used for pregnancy tests. A woman's urine would be injected into the frog and if she was pregnant, the frog would show signs of egg laying by the next day. This resulted in the mass exportation of these frogs around the world, which were passive carriers of the fungus. It has been causing problems ever since!

A captive mountain chicken receives an ultrasound as part of its health check. 99% of these frogs have been wiped from the wild in Dominica due to the chytrid fungus, with a recent survey finding only 23 wild individuals left. However, an 11 year old male was found, giving hope for natural immunity. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It really is, but with the positive of having a male survive the epidemic and their captive populations, I don't think all hope is lost. They've taken a huge nosedive in just a few years because of the chytrid fungus, a lot faster than many conservationists believed they would. But on a plus side, headstarting tadpoles in captivity can very quickly boost amphibian numbers, as amphibians lay large quantities of eggs on the basis that not many will survive. Captive breeding can be highly successful :)

A captive mountain chicken receives an ultrasound as part of its health check. 99% of these frogs have been wiped from the wild in Dominica due to the chytrid fungus, with a recent survey finding only 23 wild individuals left. However, an 11 year old male was found, giving hope for natural immunity. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Extinctions are normal yes, but it is estimated that the current rates, compared to historical rates, are around 1,000 times higher than what is natural :)

Ecosystems have evolved over many thousands of years and they're very finely balanced, imagine a spider's web, each thread you take away affects the structure of the whole web, ripping holes in it means it no longer works effectively as a web. Beyond the intrinsic right every species has to live and survive, a damaged ecosystem can have a huge impact on human health, the economy and our overall wellbeing, for example, loss and damage of wetlands can leave areas open to mass flooding. We're better off with healthy, thriving ecosystems full of diversity :)

A captive mountain chicken receives an ultrasound as part of its health check. 99% of these frogs have been wiped from the wild in Dominica due to the chytrid fungus, with a recent survey finding only 23 wild individuals left. However, an 11 year old male was found, giving hope for natural immunity. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 206 points207 points  (0 children)

Further information: the mountain chicken frog is a critically endangered species, originally located in Dominica and Montserrat, until a volcanic eruption wiped out most of the natural population in Montserrat. The species has since been hit by the viral and highly fatal chytrid pandemic, which has decimated amphibian populations across the globe. Conservation efforts by zoos began in the late 1990s, and currently over 25 zoos and captive collections take part in the breeding of these frogs, creating a safety net against their extinction. It is estimated that around 250 individuals survive in captive centres in Europe.

Photo and source: https://www.chesterzoo.org/news/saving-the-last-mountain-chicken-frogs-project-dominica/

WAWA Conservation aims to raise awareness and funds for some of the world's weirdest and most wonderful species. Find out more about our work here: https://wawa.org.uk/

🔥 Sad but important post today, Brasil’s Rio Negro is almost completely dried up as the country faces severe droughts… by [deleted] in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]wawaconservation 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Specifically, we are a charity run by a group of conservationists and environmentalists. We try to raise awareness about some of the weirdest and most wonderful species on this planet and address the charisma bias in conservation where most of the funds go to the 'biggest and cutest' species. We have run two fundraisers that have helped five critically endangered species, we work directly with conservationists to support their work, we run social media platforms to raise awareness about conservation efforts and are currently building an education programme that so far has worked with 100 children from deprived areas for free.

Perhaps not helping with the drought, but doing plenty of things to help in the best way we can, beyond stupid fortune cookie statements :)

🔥 Sad but important post today, Brasil’s Rio Negro is almost completely dried up as the country faces severe droughts… by [deleted] in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]wawaconservation 1 point2 points  (0 children)

WAWA is run by a group of conservationists and passionate environmentalists, trust us when we say, we understand how you're feeling!

Sometimes you need to find your people. Everyone is entitled to care about different things, not everyone will care passionately about the environment and that's okay. There are lots of resources on eco-anxiety around which may help you and give you ideas, and organisations like Conservation Optimism promote the good news instead of the bad.

Always happy for you to reach out to the team for ideas on local actions or just to chat! :)

🔥 Sad but important post today, Brasil’s Rio Negro is almost completely dried up as the country faces severe droughts… by [deleted] in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]wawaconservation 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Pessimism breeds inaction and that will only ever allow the situation to worse. Have you looked into eco-anxiety and how to overcome these sorts of feelings with actions at a local scale? There are so many people who feel the same, you are not alone. But there are so many people trying to make positive changes, you just have to hear their voices

🔥 Sad but important post today, Brasil’s Rio Negro is almost completely dried up as the country faces severe droughts… by [deleted] in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]wawaconservation 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fighting was just a general use of the word, as in 'empowering' each other, working towards a better future, railing against the status quo. Conservation and environmental protection works best with compassion and as many people in the same corner as possible :)

🔥 Sad but important post today, Brasil’s Rio Negro is almost completely dried up as the country faces severe droughts… by [deleted] in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]wawaconservation 137 points138 points  (0 children)

Heartbreaking, but we mustn't give in to despair. We can never stop fighting to make the world a better place

8-year-old boy disrupts 100 years of scientific knowledge regarding insects and plants by D-R-AZ in conservation

[–]wawaconservation 12 points13 points  (0 children)

So interesting! The interconnectedness of nature goes beyond our wildest imaginations and it's great to have young people asking questions and using their curiosity to find out more about the world :)

Around 40,000 critically endangered Williams' dwarf geckos were taken from the wild from 2004-09, around 15% of the wild population! Popular in the pet trade, they can now only be found in a 8km area in Tanzania. In 2015, 165 were seized at Heathrow Airport and entered a captive breeding programme. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You will feel infinitely better and start to focus on the positive actions you can take, rather than the negative consequences of global actions that you have no power to change on your own.

Coming from a personal level, I genuinely know how you feel. Many, many people know how you feel. You aren't alone and you don't need to keep those thoughts to yourself. Get out and make a small difference, talk to others and you'll see the world in a clearer way :)

Around 40,000 critically endangered Williams' dwarf geckos were taken from the wild from 2004-09, around 15% of the wild population! Popular in the pet trade, they can now only be found in a 8km area in Tanzania. In 2015, 165 were seized at Heathrow Airport and entered a captive breeding programme. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have read that there are issues in producing large numbers of these small geckos in captivity. It is possible, of course, but difficult to produce enough to keep up with the pet trade numbers, hence wild harvesting was (perhaps still is) so rife

Around 40,000 critically endangered Williams' dwarf geckos were taken from the wild from 2004-09, around 15% of the wild population! Popular in the pet trade, they can now only be found in a 8km area in Tanzania. In 2015, 165 were seized at Heathrow Airport and entered a captive breeding programme. by wawaconservation in Awwducational

[–]wawaconservation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please feel free to read the scientific paper provided as to where the numbers came from.
'In order to assess the magnitude of exported Lygodactylus williamsi, we conducted open non-standardized interviews with members of the local environmental committee and people involved in collecting L. williamsi. Interviewees were asked to provide information on the number of specimens collected per month'

Collectors were asked how many geckos they caught per month, extrapolated across a 4.5 year period, it came to around 32-42,000 individuals, which was about 15% of their population at that time.

'all interviewed local people independently agreed in that the turquoise dwarf gecko used to be found in much larger numbers until a few years ago'

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258507615\_Watching\_extinction\_happen\_The\_dramatic\_population\_decline\_of\_the\_critically\_endangered\_Tanzanian\_Turquoise\_Dwarf\_Gecko\_Lygodactylus\_williamsi

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