Treating chytrid in Montserrat 20/10/09

For both of us, Gonçalo and Andres, it is our first time here at Montserrat. We are really proud of being involved in a project like this one. Having such an amazing opportunity of working with a critically endangered species, and being in a position from which we are actually trying to help the frogs is certainly invaluable. It also gives us the chance of working along the Montserratian Forestry Department’s Staff. We have already pleasantly realized how aware are these people of the importance of the Mountain Chicken as national treasure and also how committed are they to the project. They have an extremely good predisposition and they are always willing to help. This is something we really appreciate, since without their contribution it would be completely impossible to carry out this mission.

The devastating disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by a fungus to which mountain chickens are extremely sensitive, is without doubt the major threat currently facing these frogs, and is responsible for leading this species toward extinction. The principal reason why we are here is to find out if “in-situ” (i.e. in the wild) treatments with fungicidal drug baths help the frogs fight the disease. Unfortunately, the fungus is not the only threat facing these frogs. As we have found during our repeated visits to both study sites, up in the tropical rainforest, there are several introduced species in Montserrat. This includes rats which readily attack mountain chickens. Mountain chickens lack the toxic parotid glands that cane toads have. Without this defense, they can only rely on their large size, great strength and long leaps to avoid the rats’ attacks. Unfortunately, many times this is not enough, and we have already seen a number of frogs with serious wounds; deep gashes and bite scars all over their limbs and body. Although amphibians usually have an amazing capacity to recover from serious injuries, sometimes these rat bites become infected and instead of healing they get worse, ultimately leading to the death of the frog.

We have already talked about how different the situation between both study sites is. But over the last few days, the difference between the two ghauts has become even more apparent. Although in Fairy Walk the number of frogs we found decreased markedly after the heavy rains we experienced a couple of weeks ago, we have been finding more and more each visit as the forest dries out and the stream level drops. However, the situation at Pelican sadly may have reached the “end of the road”. In some of our last visits to the site, which is a place where lots of frogs could be found not that long ago, we were not able to find even one animal. It is possible that mountain chickens are still there, and will return to Pelican at the start of the breeding season next year, but only time will tell. We really hope that the situation at Fairy Walk will not get as desperate as that at Pelican. That is what we are all fighting for.

However we also constantly reminded of the ominous presence of the volcano. In the last couple of weeks it has become increasingly active throwing out huge clouds of ash and debris around the island.