NEWS
Free ENTRANCE
In connection with National Arts Month which is celebrated during February, entrance fees in the National Art Gallery and the Museum of the Filipino People shall be free for the viewing public for the whole month of February 2010.
UPDATES
Killer Fungus Discovered in Philippine Frogs
A team of Filipino and American scientists
conducted surveys on the presence of the chytrid
fungus in the Philippines. The ongoing study is part of
a larger, collaborative research program on Philippine
biodiversity between scientists from the Philippines
and the US. The chytrid fungus study is being led
by scientists from the University of Santo Tomas
(through Prof. Mae Diesmos), University of Kansas
(through Dr. Rafe Brown), and the National Museum
of the Philippines (through Dr. Arvin Diesmos) in
partnership with the San Francisco State University,
Silliman University-Angelo King Center for Research
and Environmental Management, and the Protected
Areas and Wildlife Bureau. Field surveys were
undertaken in forested areas (mountains, natural
parks, watershed areas) and human-controlled
environments (rice fields, crop plantations, built-up
areas, and even gardens) in a total of 20 different
places on the islands of Luzon, Lubang, Samar,
Leyte, Cebu, Dinagat, and Mindanao. Frogs found
from those areas were screened for the chytrid
fungus.
Chytrid fungi are primarily found in soil and
water but are present almost everywhere. Only one
of the 500 or so species of chytrid has been found
to parasitize vertebrates, specifically frogs. The
scientific name of this fungus is Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis (Bd). Studies have shown that Bd
causes a pathogenic skin disease in amphibians
called cutaneous chytridiomycosis. This disease
has been linked to mass mortalities of frogs in many
countries in North, Central, and South America
and in Australia. Scientists have also found that
chytridiomycosis, interacting with other environmental
factors, may have triggered the recorded massive
decline of many frog populations in those countries,
and worse, have caused the extinction of several
species.
Initial results show the presence of chytrid
fungus in five species of frogs from two localities
in Luzon: Mt. Palaypalay (in Cavite Province) and
Mt. Labo (in Camarines Norte Province). These
were Limnonectes macrocephalus, Limnonectes
woodworthi, Rana similis, Rana luzonensis, and
Occidozyga laevis. Species of Limnonectes are
commonly called “fanged frogs”; both the species
of Rana are “stream frogs”, and Occidozyga frogs
are commonly known as “puddle frogs.” All these
frogs are associated with aquatic environments and
are especially found in mountain streams and fastflowing rivers.
Bd disrupts biological processes in the skin of diseased frogs. Researchers also suspect that Bd produces toxins during the infection stage. The pathogen load weakens the frog and eventually kills it. Field studies are sorely needed to document the extent of chytrid infection in Philippine frogs and to monitor chytrid-positive frog populations.
