Amphibian Husbandry Course in Argentina

Amphibian Husbandry course participants

Information and capacity building are some of the needs in countries of South America, in this way to work more efficiently in conservation. Is for this reason that Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust www.durrell.org with Amphibian Ark www.amphibianark.org, ALPZA, TEMAIKÉN and Universidad Nacional de Jujuy organized the course “Manejo y conservación de anfibios en cautiverio” (Amphibian husbandry Course) in Buenos Aires Argentina.

Exercise with different options for UV lights 

UV light reading out in the sun

In this occasion we collaborated in the course with the experience of the Bolivian amphibian Initiative www.bolivianamphibianinitiative.org with the work we carry out and with the tools are available in a country like Bolivia, showing options, limitations, success and failures working with amphibians. We also were able to share the knowledge acquired these last months in the Conservation Training internship at Durrell.

water quality test options

Water quality test exercise

This course took several subjects about amphibian conservation with a main focus in captive breeding. It provided information, experiences about the captive breeding work, with aspects like amphibian care (temperature, water quality, nutrition, enclosure design and others), diseases, biosecurity and amphibian population management among others.

Marking techniques exercise

The participants developed ex-situ plans for five Latin-American species of amphibians. This also was a great opportunity to gather people working with amphibians, not just conservationist also other areas that working together can improve the conservation work with endangered amphibians.

Post mortem exercise

After this course several participants went back to their countries with a lot new ideas and plans to organize or improve their amphibian conservation projects. Also with the new contacts that now we know and that we can work together with the goal to try to save species from extinction.

Creating our enclosure exercise 1

Creating our enclosure exercise 2

Creating our enclosure exercise 3

Conservation Internship at Durrell 2011

The Herpetology department at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Due to the work that we are carrying out in Bolivia the International Training Centre of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust ( www.durrell.org ), along with other biologists throughout South America such as those we met at the Amphibian conservation Course in Titicaca lake in 2009, is supporting us to develop our project in Bolivia.

I have just returned from a four month internship with the Herpetology and Veterinary department at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, where I learnt many new skills.

Working with local species, the Agile frog

Working in the reintroduction programe of the Agile frog

During my Internship I was provided with the skills that are necessary to maximize our impacts on amphibian conservation within Bolivia. During my stay I had the chance to learn about a combination of practical hands-on amphibian husbandry training and complementary training in areas necessary to develop and run amphibian conservation projects.  The four month internship improved my knowledge of amphibian captive breeding, GIS, education, laboratory and veterinary work with amphibian samples and the strategies of designing successful conservation projects. These skills can be applied in the work that we are carrying out in Bolivia, with a particular focus on actions to be taken to conserve the Telmatobius species (such as the Titicaca water frog). 

Learning  in the veterinary department, working with amphibians 

On a personal note it was also a great opportunity for me to learn about the work of other conservationists. I made many new contacts and was given the chance to work with people who are so passionate about conservation.

Working with endangered species, the Mountain chicken

Now with these new techniques, and with renewed energy, I've returned to Bolivia to continue our project and I feel that the experience will allow us to work in better ways in the important conservation of Bolivian amphibians

Learning marking techniques