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	Reptile & Amphibian Research
	Information on the Panama Amphibian Crisis (PDF document)

The Department of Herpetology (Reptiles & Amphibians) at Zoo Atlanta is highly active in several research and conservation projects in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America. We focus primarily on studies of biodiversity and conservation-research on amphibians. Our biodiversity studies encompass the fields of phylogenetic systematics, taxonomy, and biotic inventories. Our research is based on field work and emphasizes inventories of remote, unsurveyed areas. In the process of doing our work, we frequently discover species unknown to science. In the past 10 years, our efforts have discovered and named over 40 new species of amphibians and reptiles. One recent trip to Ecuador resulted in the discovery of five new species of frogs at a single site in the Andes.

Our conservation work is based both in the field and on-grounds at the zoo. Our basic field work produces the raw data regarding biodiversity, distribution, abundance, and natural history that are critical to inform any conservation program. We are conducting long-term studies of amphibians in Ecuador and Panama, in order to monitor the health of their populations. We are World leaders in research related to the catastrophic phenomena of Global Amphibian Declines and Extinctions. We work to understand the causes and effects of these extinctions, and are working towards development of a scientifically based conservation program of captive propagation.

Our research and conservation programs are supported by private donations and by funds from sources such as The National Geographic Society, The National Science Foundations, and Conservation International. Our results are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals such as Biological Conservation, Biotropica, and The Journal of Herpetology. To date, the staff of the Department of Herpetology published over 60 scientific articles. We collaborate with colleagues all over Latin America, many U.S. universities, and also with the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Examples of Conservation & Research Programs

• Documentation of amphibian declines and extinctions in Mexico.

• Documentation of a massive amphibian mortality event in Guatemala

• Implementation of a lab-based assay for the epidemic amphibian fungal pathogen

• Establishment of a long-term amphibian monitoring project in southern Ecuador.

• Development of an amphibian conservation program in Panama.

• Biotic surveys and conservation of Atlantic Coastal Forests on Pacific Islands of Brazil.

• Species-level diversity and evolution of the Crested toads of Mesoamerica

• Historical biogeography of frogs in the Caribbean lowlands of Mexico

• Taxonomy of Mexican and Central American Tree Frogs

Selected Publications

Mulcahy, D. G. and Mendelson, J. R., III. 2000. Phylogeography and speciation of the morphologically variable, widespread species Bufo valliceps, based on molecular evidence from mtDNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 17:173–189.

Mendelson, J. R., III, and L. Canseco-Márquez. 2002. Rediscovery of the rare treefrog Hyla cembra Caldwell, in Oaxaca, Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist 47:459–461.

Lips, K. R., J. R. Mendelson III, A. Muñoz-Alonso, L. Canseco-M á rquez, and D. G. Mulcahy. 2004. Amphibian population declines in montane southern Mexico: resurveys of historical localities. Biological Conservation 119:555–564.

O’Neill, E. M. and J. R. Mendelson III. 2004. The taxonomy of Costa Rican toads referred to Bufo melanochlorus Cope, with the description of a new species. Journal of Herpetology 38:487–494.

Mendelson, J. R., III, E. D. Brodie, Jr., J. M. Malone, M. E. Acevedo, M. A. Baker, N. J. Smatresk, and J. A. Campbell. 2005. Investigation of factors associated with the catastrophic decline of a cloudforest frog fauna in Guatemala. Revista Biologia Tropical: in press.

Lips, K. R., P. A. Burrowes, J. R. Mendelson III, and G. Parra-Olea. 2005. Amphibian Declines in Latin America: widespread population declines, extinctions and impacts. Biotropica: in press.