Artificial production and natural breeding of the endangered frog species Odorrana ishikawae, with special reference to fauna conservation in the laboratory.
Odorrana ishikawae is listed as a class IB endangered species in the IUCN Red List and is protected by law in both Okinawa and Kagoshima Prefectures, Japan. Here, in an effort to help effectively preserve the genetic diversity of this endangered species in the laboratory, we tested a farming technique involving the artificial breeding of frogs, and also promoted natural breeding in the laboratory. Field-caught male/female pairs of the Amami and Okinawa Island populations were artificially bred using an artificial insemination method in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 breeding seasons (March to April). Although fewer than 50% of the inseminated eggs achieved metamorphosis, approximately 500, 300, and 250 offspring from the three respective trials are currently being raised in the laboratory. During the 2009 and 2010 breeding seasons, second-generation offspring were produced by the natural mating activities of the first offspring derived from the two artificial matings in 2004. The findings and the methods presented here appear to be applicable to the temporary protection of genetic diversity of local populations in which the number of individuals has decreased or the environmental conditions have worsened to levels that frogs are unable to survive by themselves.
Institute for Amphibian Biology, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 739-8526, Japan. msumida@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Masayuki
M
Sumida
Naoki
N
Satou
Natsuhiko
N
Yoshikawa
Atsushi
A
Kurabayashi
Mohammed Mafizul
MM
Islam
Takeshi
T
Igawa
Shohei
S
Oumi
Seiki
S
Katsuren
Hidetoshi
H
Ota
Nozomi
N
Shintani
Hiroko
H
Fukuniwa
Naomi
N
Sano
Tamotsu
T
Fujii
D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D056727:Endangered Species; D007564:Japan; D007753:Laboratories; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology