Dilemmas in Amphibian Management: Disease and Translocation

BECKER, DAWNE
California Department of Fish & Game, Eastern Sierra and Inland Deserts Region, Bishop, CA, dbecker@dfg.ca.gov
Dilemmas in Amphibian Management: Disease and Translocation, a Group Discussion

Researchers and managers working on draft conservation strategies for Sierra Nevada amphibians focused on many issues, including identification of threats, feasibility of conducting restoration projects, the potential need for translocations, and genetics. Conservative management actions were recommended to avoid genetic manipulations, but at the time, disease was not suspected as having such a large role with regard to restoration and management. We now know otherwise. The focus will be on generating a group discussion on amphibian relocations and their value—in the presence of disease—to ascertain whether or not managers should continue Rana muscosa (RaMu)-specific restoration/translocation projects in areas where the nearest Ramu populations have been infected with chytridiomycosis. Although other researchers and agencies are facing the same dilemma, a regional California Department of Fish & Game project was the impetus for this discussion. While most of our past and ongoing restoration projects have occurred where an adjacent RaMu population would benefit without active translocation, we now have a newly-fishless water with no adjacent RaMu... READ ENTIRE ABSTRACT AT WWW.HERPETOLOGIST.BLOGSPOT.COM

Ruth Ellen Boyle
Videographer: Ruth Ellen Boyle
Speaker: Dawne Becker

Category:

Education

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