Andrew is currently in Costa Rica on fieldwork and leading a team from Chester Zoo and the University of Manchester. They are searching for Isthmohyla rivularis (right), a frog that Andrew rediscovered last year after it had been thought extinct about 20 years.
Whilst there, he and Mark Dickinson from the Photon Science Institute at the University of Manchester will be taking a spectrometer into the field to investigate how different frog species reflect Inra-red light. Something, that up until now they have only had the opportunity to do with captive frogs in the laboratory (http://www.psi.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/archive/2007/191107.html)
The team will also visit the last known breeding site of Lithobates vibicarius. The very remote area is where Andrew visited last year and returned with a few specimens to initiate a captive breeding program with Chester Zoo for the species. Tthey are returning to see how the population is fairing and help support a conservation program that Andrew proposed for protecting the species in the wild.
Following the group on this expedition are the BBC. Check out the following links to follow the groups adventures:
Experts poised for rare frog hunt: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7591050.stm
Frog Hunt: In search for the world’s rarest frogs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7597865.stm
From poisonous hoppers to screaming frogs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7597701.stm
Check back soon for more updates to the expedition!!
Filed under: Jungle Journal | Tagged: amphibians, conservation, Costa Rica, fieldwork, frogs, Manchester Museum, University of Manchester | Leave a comment »
