September 1, 2006
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Cardioglossa gracilis is a fairly common species that occurs in lowland forests of Cameroon and neighboring countries. It seems to do well in secondary forest and disturbed habitats as well. This frog was one of many seen and collected at night along a stream running through a cocoa farm near Yaoundé. The males call while sitting on or under the dead leaves scattered on the ground near the stream. |
The field work that the team has conducted will be very useful for Dave’s research, but the results of the team’s work will be important in other ways as well. It is especially important that other researchers can make use of the specimens that the team collected. All of the animals that the team has preserved and is exporting from Cameroon to the United States will become part of the herpetology collections at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. Nearly 600 specimens of more than 50 species will be exported and at least 13 of these species are new for Harvard’s collection. There are also a few undescribed species among these specimens including the Cardioglossa collected by the team at Mount Manengouba. Depositing these specimens in the museum ensures that they can be used freely in the research of other graduate students, professors, and researchers from around the world.
Placing the specimens in a museum is important because they then serve as a resouce open to everyone conducting scientific research. In the past (and even now), specimens have often been kept in personal collections. This can make things difficult because people can withold specimens or data simply because they don’t like the researcher asking to examine them. It is also important that specimens used in making taxonomic changes (such as moving a species from one genus or family to another) or describing new species are deposited in museums. Because one part of science is the verification of work conducted by other scientists, any changes or new species should be able to be easily verified. If specimens are not deposited in museums then they are not necessarily freely available to other scientists.
Beyond the collection of specimens for research, there are other interesting results of our work. The team collected several species in places where they were previously unknown. This is especially interesting for species such as Cardioglossa schioetzi which was thought to have a range of less than 1500 km2. The small range means that it is classified differently according to the guidelines of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Because our team also found this species at Mount Oku and Mount Mbam, the geographic range of this species is increased significantly and its conservation status will need to be reevaluated.
Photo K. Blackburn |
Dave and Divine goofing off in the field. When we arrive in villages, we often wait for quite a while as chiefs or village council members to return from the farms to greet us. In the spare time, the team works on field notes, organizes equipment, and usually enjoys a few good laughs. |
During our work in the forests near the village of Obang in the Northwest Province, the team recorded several lowland forest species previously not recorded from this area of Cameroon. While it is not really surprising, it suggests that further work in the forests of the northern part of this province, as well as just across the border in eastern Nigeria, will turn up many forest species and considerably extend the range of many species. Even though we spent only a few nights in Obang, our work shows that there is a lot of work to be done in this area and that is a promising place for future expeditions.
Many of the places visited by the team are disturbed by farming or grazing from cattle or goats. Surprisingly, even in these disturbed areas, we still found many species of amphibians that are endemic to the forests and grasslands of Cameroon’s mountains. This is good because it provides indication that the species are tolerant of at least some habitat change. Because of the very small ranges of montane species, the recent Global Amphibian Assessment determined many species to be potentially threatened by habitat change. Knowing that at least some of these threatened endemic species are tolerant of habitat change gives some reassurance that they will continue to survive in the wild. During our work we collected many tadpoles that we will identify as belonging to particular species using genetic data. The specimens that we collected will also make possible study of the diet of these species. It is extremely important to know about the ecology of a frog species, including tadpoles and diet, if it becomes necessary to breed frogs in captivity because they are so endangered in the wild.
Photo K. Blackburn |
| Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Cameroon is full of contrasts between old and new ways of life. While large vessels fish off the Cameroonian coast, local fisherman stilly ply the waters near the shore in small wooden canoes. Many of these contrasts between old and new are not because people choose to live more "traditional" lifestyles but rather because they do not have the money to do otherwise. |
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