Rainforest: Roads for species conservation?

Old forest roads offer survival perspectives for amphibians

Date: October 11, 2016

Source: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum

Senckenberg scientists have studied the impact of old forest roads on the species diversity in the rainforest of Central Guyana. They reached the conclusion that the established roads may be of use for amphibians and should therefore not necessarily be closed or restored to their natural state. For example, ruts in the roads filled with accumulated water can serve as spawning grounds for frogs during dry periods. The study was recently published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Brown corridors traversing the otherwise lush green: As a rule, roads that cut through the rainforest are not a pleasant sight. "We have now studied the impact of such forest roads on the species diversity among amphibians," explains Dr. Raffael Ernst of the Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Dresden, and he continues, "In doing so, we have moved from the bird's-eye view to the frog's perspective.

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A Lost Frog in the Lost World?

July 17, 2013 — Ecotourism and Conservation -- Can it work? In the context of a study in the forests of Central Guyana, a team of scientists from the Senckenberg Research Institute in Dresden investigated this very question and by chance found a previously undiscovered species of frog that only exists in a very confined area of the so-called Iwokrama Forest.

The related study was published in the scientific journal Organisms, Diversity and Evolution.

The Lost World, a famous novel released by the renowned British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1912, is set in to what, even today, is still a virtually forgotten and neglected area of ​​our planet, the Guiana Shield in the north of South America.

The region accounts for more than 25 percent of the world's tropical rain forests, and is one of the four remaining extensive pristine forested areas left in the world (Amazon, Congo, Papua New Guinea and Guiana Shield).

In a study sponsored by the Stiftung Artenschutz [Species Conservation Foundation] and the Verband Deutscher Zoodirektoren [Association of German Zoo Directors], the Dresden team, led by biologists Dr. Raffael Ernst and Monique Hölting investigated whether conservation of amphibians and ecotourism can be reconciled in the forests of Guyana. The investigations are being carried out in close co-operation with the international not-for-profit organization Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development. Their idea is to test the concept of a truly sustainable forest, where conservation, biodiversity safeguarding, environmental balance and economic use can be mutually reinforcing. Beside forms of sustainable forest management, ecotourism concepts are also being tested. This is also true of the project area, Turu Falls, at the foot of the Iwokrama Mountains in the so-called Iwokrama Forest of Central Guyana.

Continued