6A NEWS
ENVIRONMENT
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009
Endangered tree frog in Panama on the brink of extinction
BY FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press
GENEVA — A rare tree frog found only in central Panama could soon croak its last, as deforestation and infection push the species toward extinction, an environmental group said Tuesday.
The Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, which only became known to science four years ago, is one of 1,895 amphibian species that could soon disappear in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Switzerland-based IUCN surveyed a total of 47,677 animals and plants for this year's "Red List" of endangered species and determined that 17,291 of them are threatened with extinction.
More than one in five of all known mammals, more than a quarter of reptiles and 70 percent of plants are under threat, according to the survey, which featured more than 2,800 new species compared with 2008.
"These results are just the tip of the iceberg," said Craig Hilton-Taylor, who manages the list. He said "many more millions" of species that have yet to be assessed could also be under serious threat.
to the list this year is the Eastern Voalavo, a rodent that lives in the mountainous forests of Madagascar. IUCN classified it as "endangered" — two steps from extinction in the wild — because its habitat is being destroyed by slash-and-burn farming.
The only mammal to be added
An endangered Agalychnis anaea, commonly known as a Blue-Sided Leaf Frog, is seen at National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica in Heredia, Costa Rica, Wednesday. Alexander Barrientos, a scientist at INBio, said that the endangered tree frog of the Hylidae family native to Costa Rica was able to reproduce at INBio, and that they were investigating the possibility of breeding other species of frogs in danger of extinction.
measures, the group said.
The Red List already includes species such as the tiger, of which only 3,200 are thought to exist in the wild and whose habitat in Asia is steadily shrinking due to encroachment by humans. Governments and
"When you name a new species you're attached to it ... I'm pretty sad to be honest, really sad."
JOSEPH MENDELSON
Zoo Atlanta scientist
But for many others conservation efforts are likely to come too late.
The Kihansi spray toad of southern Tanzania is now thought to be extinct in the wild. A dam upstream of the Kihansi Falls has dried up
international conservation bodies use the list as guidance when deciding which species to place under legal protection.
The group added almost 300 reptiles this year, including the Panay monitor lizard and the sailfin water lizard, both of which are hunted for food and threatened by logging in their native Philippines.
Some species have recovered thanks to conservation efforts, IUCN said. The Australian grayling, a freshwater fish, has graduated from "vulnerable" to "near threatened" thanks to fish ladders at dams and other protection
the gorge where it lived, and an aggressive fungal disease known as chytriidomycosis appears to have pushed the toad population over the edge, IUCN said.
The same fate could soon befall the unusually large Rabb's fringe-limbed
tree frog, which glides through the forest using its big webbed feet to steer safely to the ground. It is the only known frog species where the tadpoles feed off skin shed by the male while he guards the young.
The chytrid fungus that causes chrytidiomycosis reached central Panama in 2006, a year after scientists first discovered the tree frog. Since then the fungus — believed to be spread by international trade and global warming — has virtually wiped out the wild frog population.
"Only a single male has been heard calling since," IUCN said.
Zoo Atlanta scientist Joseph Mendelson was part of the group that identified the frog as a distinct species. He said it is likely that dozens or even hundreds of other amphibians have become or are going to be extinct before they are
even discovered.
"This one we caught right before it went off the planet, but other species surely we didn't catch in time," Mendelson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
you're attached to it, and when that species disappears so quickly it's impossible not to have feelings associated with that," he said. "I'm pretty sad to be honest, really sad."
"When you name a new species
Karzai wins Afghanistan's turbulent election by default
INTERNATIONAL
Afghan President Hamid Karzai gestures as he heads to receive U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, unseen, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan Monday. Afghanistan's election commission has canceled Saturday's presidential runoff and proclaimed Karzai victor of the war-ravaged nation's tumultuous ballot.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KABUL — Hamid Karzai was declared the winner by default Monday in Afghanistan's fraud-married presidential election, increasing the pressure on President Barack Obama to end his marathon deliberations at a time when a scaled-down version of his commander's ambitious plans is gaining support.
Obama welcomed Karzai's election with as much admonishment as praise, telling America's partner in war that he expects a more serious effort to end corruption in his government and ready his nation to defend itself when international troops ultimately withdraw.
"I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter," Obama said in describing his congratulatory phone call to Karzai. The U.S. president said that when Karzai offered back assurances, Obama told him
that "the proof is not going to be in words. It's going to be in deeds"
Afghan politicians with ties to Karzai said they expected him to try to restore credibility abroad by offering Cabinet posts to supporters of his chief rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
But Obama's words appeared to be a sharp warning to Karzai that the American public would not support a significant increase in resources unless it is satisfied that a credible Afghan government is fully committed to tackle the problems of corruption and bad governance which have swelled insurgent ranks.
partner does little to reverse the slide.
Karzai was declared the winner one day after Abdullah dropped out of the scheduled Nov. 7 runoff. Abdullah said the election would not have been fair and accused the Karzai-appointed Independent Election Commission of bias.
The election now decided. House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama has no reason to wait any longer to decide whether to accept recommendations by his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for up to 80,000 more troops.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that Karza's win is a factor in the coming decision but did not say the timetable for an announcement has changed.
"I think the decision ... still will be made in the coming weeks," Gibbs said.
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