Conservation  Amphibian Program
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The mission of the Atlanta Botanical Garden's amphibian program is to promote the conservation of amphibians through education, research and in situ conservation.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden has an active captive breeding and research program with educational displays in the lobby of the Fuqua Conservatory.
 Research
Frogs on Display
Partnership with Zoo Atlanta
International Cooperation
Help the amphibians
The collaborative efforts of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta are focused on taking action against amphibian extinction while promoting education and research both at home and abroad. The rescue programs strive to give some amphibian species a little lien on life. However, for many amphibians, time is of the essence! |
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The key to Atlanta Botanical Garden's Conservation Program is using low-cost restoration and recovery techniques, and to work directly with local landowners and any relevant agencies, botanical institutes and organizations.
The success of the program is based on the high level of horticultural and botanical expertise of its staff members, their dedication to each project and their ability to work on a variety of different levels - local, national or international.
Learn about our conservation programs and facilities:
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Amphibian Program
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Research
Our amphibian research collections include only species from Latin America, including Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Suriname. Through collaboration with Dr. Chris Shaw at Queens University in N. Ireland, we are able to maintain many species of frogs for research and breeding. For example, we are developing husbandry and breeding techniques for many rare species including the Marsupial Frog, Gastrotheca cornuta, Lemur Leaf Frog, Phyllomedusa lemur, and several species of Glass Frogs (Centrolenids).
In conjunction with Zoo Atlanta, the Garden embarked on an ambitious pilot study to set up captive colonies of several rare frog species from Panama, where a deadly fungal disease known as Chytridiomycosis is sweeping through. Our project will serve as a model that could be used in other countries for coordinating an emergency response to the critical needs of amphibians on the brink of disappearing. Many threatened Panamanian species are now safely in captivity until other research can address other threats (disease, habitat loss, pollution) in the wild. Ultimately, these species will go back to Panama.
Some species in the Garden's collection include:
Phyllomedusa lemur Red-Eyed Leaf Frog ( Agalychnis callidryas) - This famous rainforest icon inhabits the Fuqua Conservatory and can be heard calling at night. Visitors occasionally discover egg masses attached to the backs of leaves overhanging ponds in the conservatory. Large tadpoles can be seen in the conservatory ponds nearly year-round. Glass Frogs ( Centrolenids) - We are currently working with three species in the research lab, learning how to breed them and raise offspring in captivity.
Frogs on Display
The lobby of the Fuqua Conservatory is home to several naturalistic displays of frogs from different regions of Central and South America.
The Okopipi Exhibit contains frogs from Suriname, including the rare Blue Poison Frog (Dendrobates azureus) and the Dyeing Poison Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius).
The Terrible Trio exhibit features the three deadliest poison frogs from Colombia, including Phyllobates aurotaenia, bicolor and terribilis.
The poison frogs of Costa Rica, including Dendrobates auratus, D. pumilio and Phyllobates lugubris, share their display with the Mountain Stream Frog, Hyla lancasteri.
Partnership with Zoo Atlanta
Combining forces in late 2004, Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta formed a strong partnership to further amphibian research and safeguard critically endangered species. In response to a critical situation in Panama where many rare species are under threat from a fungal disease, a pilot project was launched aimed at implementing emergency response measures to save species feared to be on the brink of extinction.
Through these efforts a model was developed that can be adopted quickly and efficiently worldwide when amphibians become threatened by disease, habitat loss, contamination or other forces.
Collaboration and captive breeding efforts extend beyond these two institutions to partnerships with other institutions such as the Houston Zoo, El Nispero Zoo in Panama, and personnel on the ground in Panama.
More information 
International Cooperation
In addition to research at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the staff also maintains an obligation to give back to the countries from which these amphibians come. We strive to help further conservation work through internships, field research assistance and other capacity building measures.
Ecuador
Atlanta Botanical Garden staff have spent considerable time exploring the cloud forests of Ecuador in search of both plants and frogs. Collaborations with Dr. Luis Coloma at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador are focused on the conservation of the Atelopus species. Atlanta Botanical Garden staff hopes to use the methodology for captive breeding Atelopus spumarius here to further efforts in Ecuador.
Suriname
In 1997, staff from the Atlanta Botanical Garden participated in an expedition to the remote Sipaliwini Savanna in southern Suriname to assess the population of the Blue Poison Frog, Dendrobates azureus. This project was initiated by the National Aquarium in Baltimore in collaboration with the Suriname Forest Service, Conservation International Suriname and the Tirio Indians.
A small number of animals were collected and brought to the Aquarium to begin the first carefully managed breeding program for the species. Future expeditions are planned to monitor the natural populations. Habitat loss due to fires in the savanna encroaching on forests, as well as smuggling, make this one of the most threatened dart frogs in the world.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is also working with another Suriname amphibian, the Harlequin Frog, Atelopus spumarius.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a wide variety of amphibian species in many different habitats. The newly rediscovered Harlequin Frog, Atelopus varius, is one example. Atlanta Botanical Garden staff and collaborators confirmed the existence of this population in late 2003.
To educate visitors about the amazing biodiversity in this unique country, educational displays have been developed along with a strong breeding program involving frogs from Costa Rica. In conjunction with the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center and the University of Costa Rica, staff are actively working on husbandry and breeding techniques for several rare species of Leaf Frogs and Glass Frogs.
The critically endangered Lemur Leaf Frog is among the species being bred at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for conservation purposes. The February 2005 issue of Reptiles Magazine featured article about the Lemur Leaf Frog by the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Ron Gagliardo and Brian Kubicki.
Amphibian Pod
The "FROGpod" concept, pioneered by the Amphibian Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, uses repurposed, insulated shipping cargo containers as modular amphibian laboratories. Garden Amphibian experts assembled the first biosecure amphibian research pod in the U.S. on site at the Garden. The FROGpod allows expansion of the captive breeding program as well as being a more "green" lab, since the water used in the Pod is reclaimed for use in the Garden.
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Help the amphibians
Frogs are in trouble! More than one-third of the world's amphibian species are considered threatened or endangered. For decades, scientists have studied the disappearance of amphibians and have even discovered some of the possible causes including global climate change, habitat loss and pollution. Recently, an emerging infectious disease known as the amphibian chytrid fungus has been shown to wipe out massive numbers of amphibans from pristine natural locations in many places around the world. This disease is currently unstoppable in the wild, but treatable in captivity.
Why should we care? Amphibians are not only a key component of the natural food chain, but are also considered indicators of overall environmental health. Collaborative efforts of the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta are focused on taking action against amphibian extinction while promoting education and research both at home and abroad. Rescue programs strive to give some amphibian species a lien on life. However, for many amphibians, time is of the essence! Click here to visit the Amphibian Research donation page.
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New frog species named Pristimantis gagliardoi
Former Amphibian Conservation Coordinator Ron Gagliardo has been honored because a newly discovered frog species has been named for him. During herpetological studies of a previously unsurveyed region in the high Andies of southern Ecuador near Cuenca, this distinctive new species of rain frog was discovered by a field team including Joe Mendelson (Zoo Atlanta), Martin Bustamante (Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Ecuador), Michell Cummer (Utah State). |
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