BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@transcontinental.ca

Imagine ravages by large swarms of insects on farms because their numbers have not been cut down enough by amphibians due to an increasing epidemic.

This is one of the catastrophic scenarios that we could be facing if something is not done to halt the global extinction of amphibians now, according to six large Quebec zoos and aquariums that held a joint press conference at the Ecomuseum in Ste. Anne de Bellevue last Friday.

"Atmospheric pollution, global pollution are part of the problem," acknowledged David Rodrigue, executive director at the Ecomuseum, but a large part of the amphibians' predicament is tied into the chytrid fungus, a mushroom which has "spread across all continents for the last 10 years," he added.

"It's making 80 per cent of species (worldwide) disappear," he said.

Exact consequences of a total amphibian disappearance are difficult to calculate, but they do form a large part of our ecosystem, Rodrigue added.

In Quebec, three out of 11 species of amphibians are in trouble, he said. The Western chorus frog is considered an endangered species by the provincial government, and the pickerel and Boreal chorus frogs are species at risk, a step less urgent than endangered.

As part of a world-wide 'Year of the frog' movement by conservationists across the globe, all six of the zoological institutions present at the conference are raising awareness campaigns about this problem.

The Ecomuseum, the Biodome, the Zoo Sauvage du Lac St. Félicien, the Parc Aquarium du Québec, Park Safari and Granby Zoo are running themed activities for children and talking to any who visit their amphibian sections about the danger of extinction. "As soon as people pass our doors, they will learn and be able to spread the word," said Rodrigue, expressing hope that visitors will make donations for scientific research or even raise the issue to land developers.

"It's the first time the zoos (in Quebec) are working together," said Biodome director Rachel Léger. Over the last two years, the Biodome has bred tadpoles from fast-disappearing species like the leopard frog and has helped other zoological gardens in Montreal and France with repopulation, she added.

The fungus is believed to have spread across the globe because of worldwide scientific usage of a species called the African clawed frog. "Laboratories all across the world were carrying this frog," said Julie Tougas, the Ecomuseum's amphibian section curator. As that species was immune to the fungus, it brought it over on its trip to other countries, and the fungus took root, she said. Now scientists are more aware of the problem and have taken measures to ensure that experiments on the frog are contained.

Martin Léveillé, a biologist at the Quebec natural resources and fauna ministry, said the government should ideally be doing more to fund research. "In real new money, there isn't $100,000 devoted per year," he estimated. "There are a few thousand dollars spent per species." In terms of methodology, he said the ministry funds "reestablishment groups," teams of scientists like him that are deployed as soon as a species is considered endangered. There are subvention programs that allow other partners to team up with the ministry, but there is still not enough cash. "There is competition for available funds for every reestablishment team for every species," he said.