Working with a model species

Sometimes to learn and to work with endangered species is risky, this is the reason that sometimes we preffer to work with model species, species that are not so threatened and more common. This is the reason that we took Telmatobius hintoni a frog that is relatively common in the city of Cochabamba, we are working with this species to find good methods to understand better the biology, behavior, reproduction and to learn how we can protect one threatened species in the future with better methods.

monithoring a population of Telmatobius hintoni

We are testing survey methods, estimating population size and biology among others, our student Ramiro is supporting us with this work and until now we found interesting things, some things that can be used with other species and others that don’t work. Also we want to improve our diets in the tadpoles of this species in captivity and finding some ways to work with different individuals and their development in captivity compared with individuals in the wild.

Using natural pattern dessign to identify our individuals

Marking tadpoles for studies

Once we know about different methods we can use it in this aquatic species that lives in streams, so we will be able to use all this knowledge to apply in the other 13 threatened species of Telmatobius that are present in Bolivia. We have been using this way to work with model species  in our captive breeding component and with good results and now we already have adult offspring of this species and in the near future of the other species we are working with.

Working with tadpoles and froglets in the  lab

One of our objectives is to obtain all this information and to make it accessible for the conservationists. This will be our next step, because we need more people with that knowledge and with the tools to work in amphibian conservation.

New members in the team

This last time we had changes in the Project, positive changes, and new people with a lot of enthusiasm and with the desire to work in research and amphibian conservation in Bolivia.

Oliver Quinteros, biologist with experience in taxonomy that will support us in the research component and with the amphibian collection work that the museum holds that will allow us to work with the new records of amphibians for Bolivia and even new species to science. This work will help us to know better our species and to understand them.

Ramiro Estrada, a student of biology that wants to carry out a study with Telmatobius hintoni (Vulnerable) with potential and desire to work with amphibians and support the Bolivian Amphibian Initiative.

Consuelo Morales, an enthusiast and promising student of biology, interested to work in conservation, recently involved in the Bolivian amphibian initiative after the high Andean amphibian conservation course. She wants to develop a study in the high lands of one are of Cochabamba with amphibian populations that are threatened and to see the impacts of some human activities in these species, Consuelo now is supporting the project.

Andrea Fuentes, student of environmental engineer, at this moment she is carrying out a internship with the project supporting us in several components like captive breeding, education and general aspects of the project, with a lot of potential and energy in the activities. Her work will help us to improve some aspects in the project and will train her to manage conservation projects.

Our new members join the team with Patricia and Nelzon, open for us the option to carry out more tasks, improve the work we are carrying out and bring us new energy for the amphibian conservation work in Bolivia, at the same way like Bolivian Amphibian Initiative we want to support to the people interested to work in conservation.

more information about our team http://bolivianamphibianinitiative.org/OurTeam

Improving our work in captive breeding

working with our frogs marking them to have better control

Due to past training experiences we came back with the objective to improve several of our activities within the project. This is the case of the captive breeding work, which we saw that several aspects could be improved.

In this sense, now we are working better with our captive frogs, in some cases treating them to improve their conditions to have better results. Aspects like nutrition, calcium balance, water quality, UV radiation and some environmental changes among others are reflecting better conditions of our frogs, aspect very important in the conservation work we want to develop.

A new model of Titicaca water frog in our exhibition
thanks to the Swedish exhibition project "Con Otros Ojos" 

Also we are improving our biosecurity levels that will allow us to have a better management and control of possible diseases of wild and captive amphibians.

Improving our biosecurity levels in the container

Improvements in our work can have a big impact in the captive amphibians we are holding and this thanks to the people and institutions like Durrell that is supporting us in this process of amphibian conservation. All these experiences we want to share with other countries that are working or want to work in captive breeding projects with Telmatobius; in this way to work faster with the species that need our help.

Working with live food

Team working in the facilities

High Andean Amphibian Conservation Course

High Andean Amphibian conservation course Titicaca 2011

Capacity building is a key component to make changes; it is a way to provide the information, the skills and the desire to work for a goal. One of the aims/ goals of the Bolivian amphibian Initiative are to train young biologists, students and veterinarians also involving park-rangers and local communities. In this case we organized the Course of Conservation of High Andean Amphibians, in Titicaca Lake for one week; there were 20 students from different areas of Bolivia and also some participants from Peru and Brazil.

practical activites about conservation

It was a great experience, to meet young people with a lot of ideas and enthusiasm to work with amphibians. Also was a refreshing period, where everybody shared their work and learned various aspects about amphibians. 

water test practice

Water test practice

They acquired some tools for conservation, like education, planning, fundraising, captive breeding and fieldwork techniques. These tools provided a general view about conservation and how they can use in the real life and their work with amphibians in Latin America.

fieldwork and biosecurity

We also had the support from some specialists working with High Andean amphibians in Bolivia that provided valuable information and experience, where the participants were able to see real cases in amphibian work.

We learned a lot from their experiences and due to organizing this course and thanks to the suggestions of the participants we want to improve our work and the next courses we are planning to organize.

In search of Telmatobius

In search of the frogs

Post mortem practice

It was also a good opportunity to bring together people that are working with amphibians in various subjects in different areas. Now this people will be able to work together, share information  and with the support of Bolivian Amphibian Initiative we want to start a network of young biologists working in different amphibian projects and as Bolivian amphibian Initiative  www.bolivianamphibian.org we will support their work.

learning about frogs playing

Origami with frogs

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 

Did Chytrid fungus arrived here?

In one of our localities in Oruro, when we were working we talked with some local people and they told us, you are not going to find any frogs, there is no anymore frogs here. And then we started to have a conversation about that.

Our camp in one locality in Oruro

One of the guys asked us if we don’t know about the war of the frogs, he told us you must know because you work with frogs. Well he started with the story about this.

Some years ago (the same time of the war in Iraq, he said) the frogs went to this war to fight and a lot of dead frog were observed this period, he told us that there were a lot of dead frogs everywhere, they died in the war he told us. Since then people don’t see frogs, but recently they starting to see some, they are coming back he said, now that the war is finished they are coming back and now you can see some of them coming back.

This is an interesting information that maybe is a story but also can be related to a possible arrival of Chytrid to the area some years ago and also that can explain that there are no frogs in the area, would be interesting to see if the Chytrid arrived there, because it is not the first time that we hear this kind of stories about frogs disappearing in different areas.

This also can provide important information about this disease and the effects in Bolivian amphibian populations.

Our team in the mountains in search of frogs (Eleonore, MArina, Sarah and Arturo)

Finding new amphibian populations

Our team during the fieldwork (Eleonore, Sarah and Marina)

After our first site we continued our travel to Sucre and we went back to Cajamarca to monitor the Telmatobius simonsi population we found previously, we found some individuals and it seems that even there are very few, they are ok. 

Telmatobius simonsi found in the streams

After that place we moved to Potosi area were we worked in several localities and some of them we found a lot of frogs, of a endemic frog (Hypsiboas alboniger) and also water frog (Telmatobius) in high numbers, it seems that at least this population are in good conditions and we think that this can be a good place to monitor these populations in the future.

Sarah taking notes of the individual she found

In some transects we found even hundreds of frogs and very active and also tadpoles and juveniles of different species. We took data of all the individuals we found and also Chytrid samples to be analyzed later to have a better idea how is the situation in Bolivia with this issue.

With all this information we will be able to prioritize our effort trying to protect the endangered species of Bolivian amphibians.

Hypsiboas alboniger a very common species in some localities

Increasing awareness about amphibians

This time we organized a long trip to different sites of Bolivia, trying to find new populations of Telmatobius and to obtain basic data about population status of the species that we find over there and to carry out educational workshops to teach some facts about amphibians. 

school kids writing down what things they know about amphibians

Our first stop was in Rodeo a small town about 3600 m asl. After our fieldwork we organized educational workshops in the local school, we realized that almost nothing is known about the frogs they have in the surroundings and if they see frogs, sometimes they even kill the frogs.

Giving a talk about amphibians

It was interesting to see how they reacted to the information we provided them and also just watching the frogs in the pictures they were very excited. At the end of the workshop we gave them our book of Bolivian amphibians with pictures and information of the amphibians of Bolivia. also the authorities were very interested and they ask us to go back to the community to keep working in the area, even we did not find endangered species they told us that before Telmatobius was common.

We gave our book of Bolivian amphibians to the school

At the end of the workshop we gave to the school our recently published book of Bolivian amphibians where they can learn about our amphibians and we plan to do the same with other schools accross Bolivia.