Zoo Atlanta’s Curator of Herpetology Joins Scientists from Around the Globe

	Dr. Joseph R. Mendelson III

Zoo Atlanta’s Curator of Herpetology, Joseph R. Mendelson III, Ph.D, joined scientists from around the world at San Diego Zoo’s reptile house recently to create a comprehensive manual for how to control combating diseases in amphibians (amphibians consist of frogs, salamanders and the little known caecilians).

The amphibian populations have steadily been declining dramatically because of chytrid, an amphibian fungal disease that infects the skin of amphibians; a vital organ through which many drink and breathe. It was discovered a decade ago; dozens of frog species have already vanished because of it. In environments where it thrives, the fungus can kill 80 percent of the native amphibians within months. Currently, it is unstoppable and untreatable in the wild, even in ‘protected’ areas.  “Chytrid fungus is doing things that diseases don’t normally do; namely, it’s driving species directly to extinction. That doesn’t happen in a normal, healthy world,” said Joseph Mendelson.

The San Diego Zoo and Zoo Atlanta invited amphibian specialists from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, to work toward a consensus on the best practices to prevent and control amphibian diseases. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the largest governmental cultural agency in the United States, provided the funds for the three-day workshop. “We hope the work we do with our colleagues will allow us to understand this disease and help save the amphibian species in the wild,” said Dennis Kelly, President and CEO, Zoo Atlanta.

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