University of Richmond Biologist Part of International Team Studying Frogs in the Peruvian Andes
December 20, 2005
University of Richmond biology professor Rafael de Sá will be part of an international team studying the biodiversity of frogs in the tropical Andes, mostly in Peru.
The team, which includes a German scientist and two Spanish scientists, received a grant of $175,000 euros to study the Andes frogs, which are declining and in danger of extinction. The grant is to the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid from the National Science Council of Spain.
“Amphibians are subject to two opposite trends,” de Sá says. “On the one hand, they are disappearing at a faster rate than any other group, as a consequence of habitat destruction, water pollution, climatic change and emerging infectious diseases. On the other hand, the number of new species described every year is increasing steadily since the 1950s.”
The tropical Andes is considered the important hotspot of biodiversity, and amphibians are extremely diverse there. de Sá probably will join the team there next summer and during his 2006-07 sabbatical year.
The team will try to discover and describe new species and see if listings of new species over the last couple of decades are scientifically sound. The team will develop a bioacoustic tool to establish differences and similarities among species as a way of identifying them. The female frogs of some species hear only the mating calls of males of their own species, de Sá says.
The scientists hope to increase the collections of genetic material, specimens and sound recordings at the national museum in Madrid and other institutions.
As part of the project, a Spanish doctoral student from Madrid will come to Richmond to work with de Sá.