11 rare Philippine frog species endangered! Is this a sign of alarming deterioration of our Philippine natural environment and the accelerating ecological degradation?
I originally thought this email from former Philippine Senator Miguel "Migz" Zubiri to me on a Sunday---today---was a joke, but this is a serious and troubling problem. Many of our political, business and other leaders are not aware of environmental dangers.
Wake up! I suggest scientists, environmentalists and others study and take pro-active, positive actions!
If frogs are not surviving well, what about our rural communities, what about us human beings?
(This image below of a polluted river in Bulacan province of the Philippines sourced from blacksmithinstitute.org)
(Image below sourced from cms132.wordpress.com)
11 rare Philippine frog species fast dying out! Alarm raised by former Philippine Senator Zubiri
At least 11 rare Philippine frog species are fast dying out due to rapid environmental degradation, former Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Pilipinas Ecowarriors convenor, said on January 13, 2013.
The frogs have just been added to the Philippines’ official list of “threatened” species, and tagged either vulnerable or endangered, according to Zubiri, former chairman of the Senate environment and natural resources committee.
He identified them, based on their common names, as the Mindanao fanged frog, Mindoro tree frog, Hazel’s forest frog, Gigante Island limestone frog, Lawton’s forest frog, Negros forest tree frog, Polillo Island forest tree frog, Rabor’s forest frog, Negros limestone frog, Mt. Data cloud frog, and Taylor’s Igorot frog.
“This is very unfortunate because most if not all of these frogs are found only in the Philippines. The decline of these extraordinary frogs indicates that our ecosystems are being polluted much faster than previously thought,” Zubiri said.
Ecologists have agreed that frogs are among the most excellent indicators of ecological health, Zubiri said.
“Since frogs breathe and drink through their skin, they are directly exposed to their surroundings, whether these are forests, mountain streams, fast-flowing rivers, lakes, and ponds,” he pointed out.
The former senator from Mindanao region in southern Philippines also acknowledged that the invasion of foreign frog species carrying the highly infections amphibian chytrid fungus may also be contributing to the collapse some local frogs.
The fungus attacks the skin of frogs and destroys their ability to “drink” water and absorb vital salts.
Frogs play a crucially important role in the maze of life and in the food chain.
They prey on insects, including mosquitoes, as wells as pests such as locusts that could possibly damage farm crops.
The predators of frogs include humans, birds, monitor lizards, snakes, civet cats and other frogs.
Species are officially tagged “threatened” once their habitats have suffered extreme depletion and their populations have shrunk to a level below which the species or subspecies will be totally extinct.
Threatened species are further sub-classified either as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.
Vulnerable species are under threat from serious adverse factors all over their range and are believed likely to drop to the endangered category in the near future.
Endangered species are at great risk of being wiped out and survival is unlikely if casual factors continue to function.
The Philippines keeps a registry of wildlife species of priority concern for protection and conservation, in compliance with existing international and national laws. The catalogue is updated regularly by the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau.
Zubiri renewed his proposal for “highly focused conservation efforts at the provincial level” to look after threatened species, and safeguard local biodiversity.
Zubiri’s Pilipinas Ecowarriors is a non-profit, registered non-governmental group that keeps watch over potential violators of environmental protection and conservation laws, including wildlife poachers.
I originally thought this email from former Philippine Senator Miguel "Migz" Zubiri to me on a Sunday---today---was a joke, but this is a serious and troubling problem. Many of our political, business and other leaders are not aware of environmental dangers.
Wake up! I suggest scientists, environmentalists and others study and take pro-active, positive actions!
If frogs are not surviving well, what about our rural communities, what about us human beings?
(This image below of a polluted river in Bulacan province of the Philippines sourced from blacksmithinstitute.org)
(Image below sourced from cms132.wordpress.com)
11 rare Philippine frog species fast dying out! Alarm raised by former Philippine Senator Zubiri
At least 11 rare Philippine frog species are fast dying out due to rapid environmental degradation, former Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Pilipinas Ecowarriors convenor, said on January 13, 2013.
The frogs have just been added to the Philippines’ official list of “threatened” species, and tagged either vulnerable or endangered, according to Zubiri, former chairman of the Senate environment and natural resources committee.
He identified them, based on their common names, as the Mindanao fanged frog, Mindoro tree frog, Hazel’s forest frog, Gigante Island limestone frog, Lawton’s forest frog, Negros forest tree frog, Polillo Island forest tree frog, Rabor’s forest frog, Negros limestone frog, Mt. Data cloud frog, and Taylor’s Igorot frog.
“This is very unfortunate because most if not all of these frogs are found only in the Philippines. The decline of these extraordinary frogs indicates that our ecosystems are being polluted much faster than previously thought,” Zubiri said.
Ecologists have agreed that frogs are among the most excellent indicators of ecological health, Zubiri said.
“Since frogs breathe and drink through their skin, they are directly exposed to their surroundings, whether these are forests, mountain streams, fast-flowing rivers, lakes, and ponds,” he pointed out.
The former senator from Mindanao region in southern Philippines also acknowledged that the invasion of foreign frog species carrying the highly infections amphibian chytrid fungus may also be contributing to the collapse some local frogs.
The fungus attacks the skin of frogs and destroys their ability to “drink” water and absorb vital salts.
Frogs play a crucially important role in the maze of life and in the food chain.
They prey on insects, including mosquitoes, as wells as pests such as locusts that could possibly damage farm crops.
The predators of frogs include humans, birds, monitor lizards, snakes, civet cats and other frogs.
Species are officially tagged “threatened” once their habitats have suffered extreme depletion and their populations have shrunk to a level below which the species or subspecies will be totally extinct.
Threatened species are further sub-classified either as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.
Vulnerable species are under threat from serious adverse factors all over their range and are believed likely to drop to the endangered category in the near future.
Endangered species are at great risk of being wiped out and survival is unlikely if casual factors continue to function.
The Philippines keeps a registry of wildlife species of priority concern for protection and conservation, in compliance with existing international and national laws. The catalogue is updated regularly by the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau.
Zubiri renewed his proposal for “highly focused conservation efforts at the provincial level” to look after threatened species, and safeguard local biodiversity.
Zubiri’s Pilipinas Ecowarriors is a non-profit, registered non-governmental group that keeps watch over potential violators of environmental protection and conservation laws, including wildlife poachers.
