Saving Philippine frogs

YEAR OF BIODIVERSITY
Saving Philippine frogs

Inquirer.net.  02/13/2010

1 How important are frogs in the ecosystem and in the web of life?

Frogs are an excellent indicator of environmental health. One explanation is that the skin of amphibians is semi-permeable, hence is very sensitive to the environment. Amphibians can “breathe” and “drink” through their skin, obtaining oxygen and water from their surroundings. Therefore, polluted environments can directly affect them.

Another explanation is that most species of frogs undergo two phases in their life cycle: an aquatic stage (the tadpole phase) and terrestrial stage (adult metamorph). Both phases involve radically different body forms, ecology and lifestyle. But one thing that is common to both forms is that they are subjected to a wide spectrum of environmental stress and challenges. (Not all frogs, however, have tadpoles. Many Philippine species of frogs skip the tadpole stage and their eggs develop directly into small frogs! This is a mode of reproduction known as direct development.)

Frogs play an essential function in the web of life. In the food chain, for example, they are a major predator of insects and many other invertebrates (animals without backbones). One could just imagine their important role in controlling the population of insect pests that could potentially damage important agricultural crops.

At the same time, frogs are a chief source of food for other animals, both vertebrates (especially birds, monitor lizards, snakes, civet cats and other frogs) and invertebrates. As we all know, many rural Filipinos are also fond of feasting on frog meat come rainy season, when frogs can be seen and caught in great abundance around lakes, ponds, and in flooded rice fields.

2 How many frog species are found in the Philippines?

There are about 105 known species of frogs in the Philippines. But herpetologists (those who study amphibians and reptiles) are aware of the presence of many other species, particularly those that have not been given formal names yet and are now in the process of being “described” to science. When this is done, the Philippines will likely have somewhere between 150 and 200 species of frogs! What is more fascinating is that over 80 percent of the species can only be found in the country.

For a relatively small country, the Philippines is extraordinary in having such a high concentration of biodiversity especially of unique species, the kind that cannot be found on other places of the world.

3 What areas were studied by a US-Philippine research team?

A team of Filipino and American scientists has undertaken field surveys of amphibians and reptiles in the Philippines since 2004. So far, the team has surveyed 20 different places on the islands of Luzon, Lubang, Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Dinagat and Mindanao. The ongoing study is part of a larger, collaborative research program on Philippine biodiversity between scientists from the Philippines and the United States.

The biodiversity research program included a survey of the presence of the chytrid fungus in the Philippines. This was led by scientists from the University of Santo Tomas, University of Kansas and the National Museum of the Philippines 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 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Our field surveys were undertaken in forested areas (such as mountains, natural parks, watershed areas) but we also surveyed human-controlled environments (like rice fields, crop plantations, built-up areas and even gardens).

We screened all frogs that we found from those areas for the chytrid fungus. Our initial results show the presence of chytrid fungus in five species of frogs that we found from two localities in Luzon: Mt. Palaypalay (in Cavite province) and Mt. Labo (in Camarines Norte).

4 Are the frog species found infected with the fungus found only in Luzon?

The five species of frogs that tested positive for chytrid fungus 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 fast-flowing rivers.

Except for Occidozyga laevis, all species are endemic to the Luzon Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complex or Luzon PAIC. Scientists consider the Luzon PAIC a separate biogeographic region in the Philippines. This means that the species of animals (and also plants) that are found in this region are unique to the region and are usually not found from other places in the Philippines.

Luzon PAIC includes the islands of Luzon, Polillo island group, Catanduanes, Marinduque and other adjacent islands around Luzon. Sometime during the geological past of the Philippines (that is millions of years ago), all these islands were connected to each other and formed one landmass.

5 How does the fungus kill frogs?

First of all, the type of fungus that we are talking about is called chytrid. Chytrid fungi are primarily found in soil and water but are certainly present almost everywhere. So far, only one of the 500 or so species of chytrid has been found to parasitize vertebrates—frogs, specifically—and goes by the scientific name Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Let us use the acronym Bd for this fungus.

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.

Bd lives in the skin of frogs. Like other chytrids, Bd produces zoospores (hundreds to thousands of them) in order to reproduce and to disperse. The zoospores are encased inside a structure called sporangium (plural, sporangia), which can be found scattered all over the skin cells of an infected frog. When they mature, the zoospores are ejected from the sporangium through discharge tubes that poke out of the frog’s skin.

Researchers believe that the disease disrupts biological processes in the skin of diseased frogs. Keep in mind that the semi-permeable skin of amphibians plays a critical function in respiration.

Researchers also suspect that Bd produces toxins during the infection stage. The pathogen load weakens the frog and eventually kills it.

6 When did the fungus reach the Philipines?

How is it spread?

We do not know the answer at this point. But the results of recent studies from other countries could provide helpful information.

The studies indicate that Bd might have been introduced along with commercially traded frogs. Frogs are routinely exported or imported as specimens for medical research, animals for the pet trade, as processed meat, or for frog farming.

One study suggested that Bd originated from Africa and was subsequently introduced into other countries through commercial trade of frogs. Another study done in Japan showed that the introduction of an alien species of frog for food and pet trade was the culprit for the appearance of the chytrid fungus in that country.

The results of these studies are highly relevant to us in the Philippines since we know that alien species are commonly traded in the country. In fact, there are now at least five species of alien frogs in the Philippines based on a previous study that we conducted ourselves. One of the five alien species in the Philippines (Rana catesbeiana) is the same species of frog that Japanese researchers found to be a vector of Bd.

On the other hand, Bd may have been in the Philippines for a long time and only recently did it reach pathogenic levels, due perhaps to radical changes in the extent and quality of our forest habitats, the structure, microclimate and so on, brought about by massive deforestation and forest disturbance that are still happening in our country.

But then again, we do not have the data right now to reach a conclusive statement. For example, we even lack baseline information on the population ecology or abundance of frogs from the two mountains where we found the chytrid fungus. Thus, we do not have any historical data to compare the information that we have now.

7 When did it start outside the country?

Scientists were able to identify Bd and the disease it causes in the late 1990s. But researchers working in Central and South America started noticing that something was amiss as early as the 1970s, when the populations of frogs that they were studying and monitoring started to decline and even collapsed.

8 How many countries have been affected by the fungus?

Bd is now known from at least 43 countries and has infected more than 100 different species of frogs.

It has been recorded in countries in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

9 What are the steps being taken to save the frogs?

In other countries, Bd-infected frogs are caught from the wild and are brought into captivity with the aim of preventing the spread of infection to other individual frogs, species or populations. While the diseased frogs are being kept in zoos, veterinarian centers, or research centers, careful observation and monitoring are done. Some groups of researchers have found success in the treatment of diseased frogs using antifungal medications.

But in general, scientists feel that current conservation efforts are insufficient and the available options to control and to combat the spread of the disease are very limited. Scientists are still striving to find more effective and long-term solutions to this global problem.

That is why we believe that it is very important now to establish a monitoring program on chytrid fungus in the Philippines. Among the first steps that should be done are to: (1) Find out which other areas in the country are Bd-positive; (2) Identify which other species of frogs are affected; and (3) Determine and assess the effects of Bd on the frog community.

In the meantime, the two areas where we found the presence of Bd need to be monitored and assessed if the chytrid is causing a decline in their frog populations.

(Arvin C. Diesmos, Ph.D., an ecologist, is a research scientist at the zoology division of the National Museum of the Philippines, Manila and is in charge of the herpetology section; Mae Lowe L. Diesmos, M.Sc., a biologist, is an assistant professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science of the University of Santo Tomas, Manila.

Rafe M. Brown, Ph.D., an evolutionary biologist, is a curator at the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas and an assistant professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of the University of Kansas.)

Penitensya or flagellation in the Philippines

I accompanied my balikbayan cousin Jeremy Baltazar to witness one of what can be  considered  the extreme acts of devotion  during Holy week in the Philippines,  the “flagellants”  or “penitensya”.  We were able to document  the "penitensya" in Malibay, Pasay for this blog
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 During my younger days, I used to wait for the procession of the “penitensya” coming from the malibay/maricaban area . Perhaps due to curiousity as a child , i usually sit in the sidewalk and wonder why they do this practice every Good Friday.

 

Lent is the commemoration of the suffering, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a 40-day-long observance (excluding Sundays) that begins on Ash Wednesday, and ends with Easter Sunday. As Catholics see this season as a time for personal conversion and atonement, various acts redemption are committed by the faithful.

Around the world the devout and non-devout alike flock to churches for confessions and prayers like novenas and the Way of the Cross. Penance and sacrifices such as abstaining from eating meat and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also observed. In the Philippines, penitents have enacted a much greater mortification on Good Friday since the Spanish era -- flagellation.

Flagellation (penitensya in Filipino) is an extreme act of mortification in which the penitent scourges himself by whipping his own flesh. This art of mortifying was popularized  in the Catholic Church during the 13th and 14th centuries by radicals in the Catholic Church. It began as a militant pilgrimage which the Catholic Church later considered as heretical. The Flagellation refers in a Christian context to the Flagellation of Christ, an episode in the Passion of Christ prior to the Jesus' crucifixion. The practice of mortification of the flesh for religious purposes was utilized by some Christians throughout most of Christian history, especially in Catholic monasteries and convents. and was later condemned by the

Despite the condemnation of flagellation by the Catholic church, many of its devout still practice this extreme form of self mortification every Good Friday in various countries with a dominant Catholic population. As in the Philippines, flagellants - hooded, half-naked men under the unforgiving summer sun -  first cut their backs with a blade or knife then begin whipping their backs with bamboo-tipped burillos or with whips embedded with thorns and glass shards as the blood flows out of their wounds.

Flagellation (from Latin flagellare, to whip) was not an uncommon practice amongst the more fervently religious. As well as flagellation, the rituals were built around processions, hymns, distinct gestures, uniforms, and discipline. It was also said that when singing a hymn and upon reaching the part about the passion of the Christ, one must drop to the ground, no matter how dirty or painful the area may seem.

Some penitents   hope if they beat themselves the loving God will be sorry for them and is less likely to send them to Hell. The question is: does that mean that the goal of flagellation is not being achieved such that they have to do this almost every year?

Watching a Filipino penitent engage in self-flagellation is indeed not for the faint of heart.How much do they cut themselves ?It seems like it might be a little excessive. For health reasons it probally isn't the best idea to have all that blood flying around especially with open wounds for it to land in. Because of their self-inflicted lesions, penitents are at risk of contracting tetanus and other infection. Another disturbing practice of Filipino penitents is using a razor blade or a small wooden plank embedded with glass shards to prick the skin of the back and initiate bleeding before the flogging starts. In most cases, only one such implement is used on several penitents. On the other hand, spectators catching the splatter of a penitent’s blood may be in for trouble. Blood drops that land on mucous membrane like the eyes and mouth pose serious threat. AIDS, hepatitis and syphilis are among the diseases that could be transmitted through this mode.

As the years passed flagellation has for some reasons  become an entertainment  every Good Friday. People flock to the streets waiting for the penitents to pass by as they mimic the struggle and piety of Christ.


For the past few years, in recognition of the show flagellation has become, the church has urged Catholics to focus on self-atonement and conversion rather than engage in .an extreme act of mortification in which the penitent scourges himself by whipping his own flesh.

Dog Bite and Car incident on April 15, a not-so-ordinary day

Last Friday, April 15, 2011 should have been one ordinary day. But it turned out it was not.

At 9:30 a.m., I was slightly bitten in my right leg by my neighbor’s pet dog, the mini dachshund breed . At first I thought it was only a scratch but the spot turned black and I felt some pain. We immediately washed and applied some first aid. I still felt the pain while driving and combined with paranoia for the possible effect of the dogbite’s rabies, I accidentally swide swiped a 52-year old lady on my way to work at the Baclaran area and was forced to rush her to the nearby San Juan de Dios Hospital. Fortunately, she only had minor bruises in the ankle area and no major injury. While  chatting at  the hospital, I apologized to her for the accident and she said that she is not mad since “mabait naman ako.” What perhaps helped to ease the tension was the fact that she has siblings who are seafarers and I told her I am a lawyer for seafarers and we are the legal counsel of the church based organization, Apostleship of the Sea. Plus I have two brother priests. The hospital emergency bill: Almost P3,000 pesos. After  the accident, I went to Makati medical center to attend to the dog bite: the cost 5 injections of verorab at P1,600 per injectible , or P 8,000.00 plus a little less than a thousand for the antibiotics and antitetanus. 

During our conversation at the San Juan De Dios Hospital, it was only then that I remembered that April 15 was not just an ordinary day. 

April 15, 2002 was when we brought Mama for the first time to the hospital.  My mother, fondly called Mama Linda, died l on May 17, 2002 due to pericarditis and lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes after almost a month of confinement at the Philippine Heart Center.  On April 14, 2003, papa  was rushed to Las Piñas City Medical Center after falling down from the stairs — a day short of the one full year from mama’s hospitalization. A year and six months after mama’s death, my father, Papa Ponching to many, died  November 16, 2003 a Sunday, due to pneumonia after being bedridden for almost eight months brought about by complications arising from an operation on his brain (hydrocephalus). I have told relatives and friends that  Papa could have been dead during the second week of April due to the gravity of the hydrocephalus  if not for that incident when he fell from our stairs. Maybe Mama pushed him so that the hydrocephalus and tumor could be detected.

In my blog “KAMATIS” LOVE AFFAIR OF PONCHING AND LINDA GORECHO I wrote that if I will submit the love story of my parents to “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” I will use the title “Kamatis.” The wedding line, “Till death do us part” will be replaced by “But death will not set us apart.” All throughout their more than thirty years of marriage, we never saw them engage in physical fights. Although we were accustomed to Mama’s masungit and mataray lines, we knew that was just how they expressed their emotions: only through words and eye contact. Laging sinasabi ni Papa: Bago pa man magkasala si mama sa kanya (siguro sa pagiging mataray ni Mama) pinapatawad na nya si mama. If mama was angry, Papa would just step back. Di nya sasalubungin emotion ni mama.

When we were growing up, I remember times when Mama scolded us, “Buti nga kayo di nyo naranasan ang magtinda ng kamatis sa palengke.” Then she would cry. Perhaps, this was her way of saying that whatever the benefits we were enjoying then were due to their hard work..This is something that children have to realize: that parents will sacrifice a lot for the future of the kids. If mama would say the “kamatis” story, Papa, on the other hand, would tell us stories when he was still a security guard in a government agency before they got married in July 1968. Papa was a security guard by day and a student by night taking up library science. When he graduated, he proceeded to be a librarian in the same office until he retired in early 1990s.

People wonder why we have several stuff in our house which Papa did not want to dispose, especially the shoes. Papa justified this by saying that while he was growing up, he never had the luxury of owning new ones since both he and mama came from a family with very modest means. He tried to instill this in us such that long before ukay-ukay became famous, we were already wearing secondhand clothes and shoes, sleeping on beds, sitting on chairs and sofas that papa bought from the secondhand shops in Bangkal. Seldom did we wear brand-new clothes, except maybe during Christmases when our Titas bought us clothing on an installment basis - one Tita would buy us pants while another took care of the shirts. Never mind the shoes, andyan naman ang Bangkal. We became the walking models for ukay-ukay.

Perhaps the two incidents this morning, the dog bite and the car accident,  were my parents’ “reminder” that April 15 is a date to be remembered. So,  I attended the 7pm mass at greenbelt chapel and prayed for them.