Mood: a-ok
Topic: Media
http://www.amphibianark.org/newsletter.htm
These guys are doing great work to save amphibians globally. Check out their newsletter to see some of the ways they are helping, and how you can help them.
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http://www.amphibianark.org/newsletter.htm
These guys are doing great work to save amphibians globally. Check out their newsletter to see some of the ways they are helping, and how you can help them.
I was sent a link to a new video game this morning and asked to spead the word around. It is part of a promotion for the Vancouver Aquarium's new Year of the Frog exhibit. The game is called Frogster, and is a new twist on the game Frogger. The new hazards include Chytrid Fungus, Air Pollution, Loss of Habitat, Water Pollution, Climate Change and Human Interference. My kids saw me checking it out and insisted on playing. You use the arrow keys to move and have many things to watch out for. Learning about amphibian declines and having fun at the same time, what a concept! I have used the Frogger analogy in teaching about the Green Treefrog migration north into Indiana. I explain how the frog goes to sleep in a log and gets washed into the river, then has to get to shore before it runs out of suitable habitat. This game takes it even further in a wonderful mix of fun and education. Check it out and let me know what you think.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Wendell Zetterberg, Jr.
95 N Spring St. Apt. B
Frankfort, IN 46041
765-249-2298
The Central Indiana Frog Watchers (CIFW) will have very special guest speaker Dr. Michael Finkler, Indiana University Kokomo, at the April meeting speaking about SALAMANDERS!
Frankfort, IN April 9, 2008 (the Year of the Frog), The guest speaker for the April 9th CIFW meeting, 7pm at the Camp Cullom Lodge will be Dr. Michael Finkler, Indiana University Kokomo. Dr. Finkler has a wide range of field experience throughout the Midwest involving snakes, turtles, salamanders and frogs. He has also recently released the book, Biology of the Snapping Turtle. The topic will be “Salamander Springtime Love-In: A Look at the Physiological Ecology of Ambystomatids During Reproduction”.
Of the 23 salamander species in Indiana, 8 of them fall in the Ambystoma (mole salamander) family with many having elaborate mating rituals, not to mention the rule breaking unisexual hybrids, the rebels of the amphibian world. The Central Indiana FrogWatchers are equal opportunity amphibian conservers. Even though the salamanders do not have have calls that can be heard for FrogWatch, we still want to make things better for them, since like frogs, they act as environmental health indicators..
Central Indiana Frog Watchers (CIFW) is a group of nature enthusiasts with a special fondness for amphibians. Frogs and toads are declining throughout the world, and through the NWF program Frogwatch USA www.nwf.org/frogwatchusa , citizen volunteers can listen for frogs in their community and let scientists know about the populations. We are a small, but growing, group that meets at the Camp Cullom (near Frankfort IN) on the second Wednesday of each month at 7pm. While being a Frogwatch USA volunteer is not required, it is encouraged. We have special guest speakers each month as well as our newsletter the ToadTimes. Check us out at www.myspace.com/cifw
Frogwatch USA, a joint partnership of the National Wildlife Federation and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), is a long-term frog and toad monitoring program educating citizens on how to get involved in their community to:
*Collect and report information about frog and toad populations in the United States.
*Promote an appreciation for the diversity of frog and toad species in the United States.
*Foster an understanding of the importance of protecting wetland habitats.
*Provide an opportunity to learn about and establish a closer relationship with the natural environment.
In 2002, The NWF joined forces with the USGS to work on an exciting amphibian conservation initiative called Frogwatch USA. A volunteer based monitoring program, Frogwatch USA is instrumental in collecting desperately needed amphibian data and raising citizen awareness about species and habitat decline.
Many of our country’s once-thriving frog and toad populations have declined dramatically. Today, even previously abundant species can be hard to find. The degradation and destruction of wetland habitat and increased air and water pollution contributes to their decline. Since amphibians can serve as “canaries in a coal mine”- indicators of larger, broader environmental problems- it is essential that we have a better understanding of our amphibian crisis.
Frogwatch USA was created to meet that need. Frogwatch USA gives citizens across the country-young and old alike- an opportunity to be directly involved in gathering the information that can ultimately lead to practical and workable ways to help stop the decline of these important species.
Frogwatch USA is also a great was for parents, teachers and youth group leaders to teach children about nature. It is not only a great way to help wildlife in your community, but also a great way to experience nature with its future stewards.
For more information about Frogwatch USA, visit http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchUSA/
For more information about the CIFW: Wendell Zetterberg, Jr. wzetterberg@gmail.com 765-249-2298
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The National Wildlife Federation puts out 4 wondeful magazines, National Wildlife for the adults, Ranger Rick for kids 7 and up, Your Big Back Yard for 3-7 and Wild Animal Baby for the younger ones. As my kids are teen and pre-teen agers, we receive Ranger Rick and National Wildlife.
In Ranger Rick, on the inside of the front cover is a terrific picture of a Red-eyed Treefrog in the rain along with a cute poem. then in their section promoting Green Hour are several tips for kids to do in the great outdoors. One of these tips is catching frogs. Some good advice on how to catch them, as well as keeping them and you safe in the process.
In National Wildlife, there is a great article about Brian Kubicki and his life's dedication at conserving amphibians in Costa Rica. He is the founder and runs the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center (CRARC). He has even named his daughter after a favorite frog! Thanks to Brian for his amazing work and for helping amphibians. A Wendell's Frog Blog flippered salute!
Shining a Light on Glass Frogs
Many of you may have already read the Assessment Report of FrogWatch USA that covered 1999-2005. If you have seen my Frogs and Toads of Indiana presentation, the data with the sites monitored, temperature ranges and number of full choruses heard came from this report. I also use this information for the Frog of the Month in the Toad Times newsletter, the monthly newsletter of the Central Indiana FrogWatchers that I edit. If you have not read it, a link to this can be found on the FrogWatch USA Home Page. www.nwf.org/frogwatchusa
There is an update to this that covers 2006-2007 that has just been added. It shows the five most common heard frogs in the United States, shows the top five states for active volunteers (Indiana is #5). There is also a map showing monitoring locations. A great piece of information. I urge you to check it out. http://www.nwf.org/frogwatchusa/report.cfm
Sadly, it also shows a decrease in those that are actively monitoring. FrogWatch USA is a great program that is lots of fun, as well as doing a great service to the scientific community in helping frogs and toads. Check it out and see if you would want to become a FrogWatcher. There are many trainings going on, and there is much great info on the Frogwatch site. Local herp societies are also great sources of information if you want to learn more about your local frogs and toads. Look along the left column for sites in your area.
Saturday May 3rd is National FrogWatch Day. Record a Ribbit www.nwf.org/ribbit Check out the site, and go out that day and listen to the wondeful sounds of frogs and toads in your area. Encourage others to do the same, or lead o hike to a wetland and share your knowledge with others that want to learn. Just remember to always BE SAFE, and HAVE FUN!
A scientist, Dr. P. Charming from Far Far Away University (FFAU) has discovered a new syndrome that is causing the rapid decline of many species of frogs and toads. He calls this PSG (Prince Seeking Girl) syndrome. It seems that PSG syndrome occurs most often during periods of Purple Rain. For many years, the actual number has gone undocumented, only occasionally being referred to in fairy tales and folklore. Dr. Charming’s findings show that this happens much more often than previously believed and that even losing a small number of frogs and toads to royalty can disrupt the amphibian ecosystem. While still unknown the age a girl starts to see boys and frogs as not gross, or cootie infected, it seems to be between 13 and 21. Kissing frogs and toads has the potential of spreading salmonella, which is natural in the amphibian but can cause problems for the human. There is also the possibility of being sickened by the toxins created by toads. On the bright side however, there is no correlation to warts being transferred to either amphibian or human species. There is hope however! With new technologies such as On-line dating services and MySpace, maybe the need to go to the local pond in search of a Prince in froggy armor and kiss a poor frog and take him away from his happy home will finally come to an end. Maybe if humans tried to get along a little better with their own species, they wouldn’t decide to search for the companionship in threatened species. If you know of a case of PSG syndrome in progress, please intervene and try to prevent this tragedy from happening. If you need assistance in the intervention, please call 1-APR-ILF-OOLS!
2008 FrogWatch USA Training Workshop
On March 22nd, we had the FrogWatch USA Training Workshop postponed from February due to the weather. While there were still a few minor technical difficulties, the day went over quite well. Many new faces as well as CIFW members attended and the frogs and toads of Central Indiana will be better because of it. We covered Why we monitor, the Frogs and Toads of Indiana (using audio from Lang Elliot's The Calls of Frogs and Toads, and Video from www.midwestfrogs.com) We also covered the FrogWatch Basics and an Online presentation about registering and some of the Online resources available. We had chips donated from Frito Lay, and drinks as well as many supplies were donated by the Frankfort WalMart. It is great that Camp Cullom has allowed us to hold our meeting, trainings and field trainings at such a wonderful place. After the inside Workshop, many of the attendees, despite snow just a little bit earlier, ventured out to see what kinds of amphibious signs we could find. We heard many Spring Peepers calling and found several amphibian egg masses. One believed to be Spring Peeper, one a Smallmouth Salamander and several Tiger Salamander egg masses. No amphibians were seen, but a small Eastern Garter Snake was found that had recently died. If you missed the workshop, I will be doing a presentation on April 2nd at the Lilly Nature Center in West Lafayette about the Frogs and Toads of Indiana as well as leading a hike to see what signs of amphibians we can find in the Celery Bog area. We also have materials available at the CIFW meetings and I would be happy to help in any way I can to get you ready to be a Frog Watcher!
Very exciting, keep up the great work in Clark County Oregon!
Thanks for looking out for amphibians.
Spring frogs will be calling soon
A great article in the Oskaloosa Herald with some pictures as well.
Last night the Central Indiana FrogWatchers (CIFW) had a spectacular speaker. Dave MacGowsn drove down from Chicago to give us a presentation about some of fantastic work with amphibian filming through Ravenswood Media. He is a terrific guy and had a wonderful and insightful presentation, ranging from amphibian studies in Uganda to calling froms that can be found in your backyard or nearby pond. While his knowledge about amphibians was very impressive, his passion for conservation and letting the world know about these fabulous animals and their troubles is what really stood out to me. He is currently working on a documentary called "Songs of Spring" about frogs that will hopefully be released this year. His recently released documentary titled "Caves: Life Beneath the Forest Floor" about cave life in Southern Indiana (including some salamanders) is now being used by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to help promote cave and karst conservation. I'm sure "Songs of Spring" will also be used as a positive conservation tool to help amphibians in the same way. You can see video clips of these at www.midwestfrogs.com Frog Calls...an evolving webumentary and cave clips at www.cavebiota.com He has also done work with Envirovet, a group bring veteranarians to wildlife throughout the world, as well as Fishes of the Great Lakes. Links for both of these can be found on the other sites. Be sure to check out the online newsletters at the bottom of the www.midwestfrogs.com page. In those, it talks about what Ravenswood Media has been doing, from Amphibians in Italy to Mountain Gorrillas, Condors, even the endangered Hellbender of the Blue River region in Southern Indiana. There are articles with great pictures and videos that go along with it. They are doing some really revolutionary things, not just with their conservation efforts, but also in technology. I am so amazed at a newsletter with videos. After a great presentation and being so impressed by this man that drove almost three hours to talk with us, he went another extra mile and donated his video presentation to the CIFW Chapter Library. A great thank you to Dave MacGowan for last night, as well as everything he is doing to help amphibians, not just in the Midwest, but throughout the world. I was not surprised to find out he has been named a Hoosier Hero by Senator Coats for a documentary he did about the paper mill industry in Brookston IN that was nominated for an academy award! What can be said other than....WOW.
Before the meeting, I went to Camp Cullom early to do a little looking around. I still have yeat to hear any calling frogs but I did see a very chilly dark green frog, as well as netted a few green frog and bullfrog tadpoles. With the size variation, I'd say some were first year tadpoles and some there second. A couple of splashes I am sure one was a spring peeper by the small splash, the other a ranidae, maybe a green or leopard frog. I also found my first salamander of the year, a two-lined larvae. I was so happy to have finally found a salamander that I laughed when I slid in the mud getting out of the ravine right afterwards and got my pants all muddy just before the meeting. While we took the camera and extra batteries to get some pictures of not just wildlife but also Dave MacGowan, we found we hadn't used them in a bit and all the batteries were dead. I'm going out again later today so hopefully the batteries will hold charge.
While this doesn't sound frog related, everything is connected. With the recent warmer weather, were frogs in those trees? Celery Bog is a wonderful place, (that I will be doing a Frogs and Toads of Indiana presentation on April 2 at 7pm...I know, shameless plug) and its sad that more thought and planning wasn't executed before making such a drastic change to the landscape. It will wind up being arguments between humans, golfers vs naturalists, or grounds keepers vs foresters, but in the end, its the wildlife that has truly lost.
Where: National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall, 17th and M streets NW, Washington, D.C.
"Frogs! A Chorus of Colors" will be on display through May 11. There is also a photo exhibit, "Face to Face with Frogs," featuring photographs by Mark W. Moffett, which also closes May 11.
Reptiland has a similar exhibit at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, but Peeling said the National Geographic exhibit is bigger and is more interactive.
Admission to the National Geographic Museum is free.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The nearest Metro stops are Farragut North and Farragut West.
For information, call 202-857-7588 or go to www.nationalgeographic.com/museum.
By Stacey Halpern
On March 6, Barbara Han will present "Amphibian population declines: cause and consequence of infectious pathogens?" as part of the Biology Seminar Series. The talk begins at 4:30 p.m. in Strain 121.
The biology seminar continues with a visit from Barbara Han, presenting "Amphibian population declines: cause and consequence of infectious pathogens?" Barbara Han is a graduate student in Zoology at Oregon State Universit. She studies the effects of infectious diseases on communities, focusing on an emerging fungal pathogen that affects amphibians.
The seminar will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Strain 121, with cookies and conversation at 4:15 p.m. All members of the Pacific community are welcome. We gratefully acknowledge support of this seminar series by the Biology Club and PUCC.
Posted by Stacey Halpern (shalpern@pacificu.edu) on Jan 19, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Leap Year Day Is Special, and Marketers Know It
It's one giant leap for frogs.. Edinburgh Zoo
Red Panda Is New Addition to Prospect Park Zoo Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn
Saving frogs: scroll down at the link) Cleveland Metroparks ZooZoo will survey sounds of frogs in wildlife study Stone Zoo in Boston Free FrogWatch USA Training Workshop To sign up for Saturday's free workshop, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., call 617-989-3742. Registration is encouraged but not required. The zoo is at 149 Pond St. in Stoneham.We're making Lithgow crazy This leap year, remember the frogLeap Day at Denver Zoo