In Ecuador, a colony of frogs to save them from extinction - France 24

San Rafael (Ecuador) (AFP)

Global warming weakens the frogs, to such an extent that scientists feared that certain species would disappear from the surface of the planet, until the creation in Ecuador of an arch where a wide variety of amphibians have found refuge.

In glass or plastic boxes, on plant litter, stones or in water depending on the needs of each species, the Jambatu Center allows the reproduction in captivity of 34 varieties of frogs.

Their populations have dramatically declined due to rising temperatures and variations in humidity.

But this research institute, founded in 2011, has vast gardens and interconnected rooms in which researchers have reproduced different climates.

"The dream is for these animals to come back. They have disappeared from national parks. It is a high alert. If an animal goes extinct in a national park, it means that we are doing something wrong. And that something. , it's climate change, "laments Luis Coloma, director of the center.

Among the Gastrotheca and Dendrobatidae, stands out the Atelopus ignescens or black jambato, which abounded in particular in the paramos (humid moors of the Andes) and returned from the dead.

- A ghost in freedom -

After three decades of supposed extinction, it has reappeared and is today the first ark host to live in freedom.

Four specimens of this species, of which the female, larger than the male, measures 42.5 millimeters, left the refuge of the laboratory for the gardens of the institute, in San Rafael, near Quito.

There, the researchers are conducting groundbreaking pre-adaptation trials, which AFP has been able to attend, to assess the reactions of frogs to predators, diseases and variations in climate, before reintroduction into their natural habitat.

In the terrarium, where a paramo ecosystem has been recreated, with an artificial watercourse and Andean vegetation, a jambato plunges into the current, to Mr. Coloma's amazement.

"This is the first time that this animal swims! It must be written in its genetic memory," he exclaims.

As with other amphibians, climate change and diseases such as chytridiomycosis decimated the jambatos, until their disappearance in the late 1980s.

Jambatu scientists offered rewards to find one and in 2016, an indigenous child from the vicinity of the Cotopaxi volcano (center) discovers one of these amphibians and wins the promised 1,000 dollars.

There followed intense research in the area until the encounter with a colony of 36 specimens, transferred to "the ark of the frogs", where were born myriads of tadpoles, of which 200 have survived.

In the laboratories, "populations with sufficient genetic diversity to survive over time", explains Andrea Teran, project manager.

However, successfully reproducing jambato was a miracle.

"It is very difficult to make them reproduce in the laboratory because they have a so-called home-like behavior, that is to say they come back to reproduce where they were born", specifies Mr. Coloma.

Scientists stored semen in liquid nitrogen.

But we had to find females to inseminate because the eggs are not resistant to freezing.

"We have an invaluable treasure here," adds Teran, also referring to the skin of amphibians, which is rich in components for the development of analgesics and antibiotics.

- Vulnerable to changes -

Batrachians are essential for the regulation of insect populations.

But the process of reintroducing them to their natural habitat is very difficult, Coloma said, because captive-bred frogs don't know their predators and have been protected from disease.

Ecuador, a small country with vast biodiversity, has 623 species of amphibians, nearly 60% of which are classified as critically endangered.

"Frogs are not safe in the wild. We do not yet have measures to adapt to climate change" for them, laments Ms. Teran.

Their skin, attractive by its colors and its designs, condemns them.

And if its humidity allows them to live in various atmospheres, its permeability makes them susceptible to diseases that develop with climate change.

"For these endangered species in the wild, if there are no colonies sheltered in laboratories, their future is very likely to be extinction," she warns, regretting that for many it is. already "late".

© 2020 AFP