Friskier frogs: endangered species gets a sex appeal boost

Australian researchers have a new way to increase desire in the northern corroboree frog

Calla Wahlquist

Wed 5 Dec 2018 23.00 GMT Last modified on Wed 5 Dec 2018 23.03 GMT

Australian researchers are applying a sex hormone to the skin of the critically endangered northern corroboree frog in a world-first treatment to encourage females to accept less desirable mates in captivity.

A trial conducted by the University of Wollongong and Taronga zoo found that, by administering the hormone to both a male and female frog before pairing them off, researchers could increase the chance that they would accept their allocated partner from about 22% to 100%.

In a world-first, the researchers put a few drops of the synthetic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone on the frog’s stomach instead of using the accepted technique of injecting the hormone under the skin.

It is the same type of hormone used in IVF.

 “Because frogs have highly permeable skin, the hormone gets absorbed straight in,” lead researcher Dr Aimee Silla said. “It’s extremely safe to use and we are really pleased with the outcome of these trials because we’re hoping that this method of application will be adopted by other amphibian breeding programs globally.”

Taronga zoo’s northern corroboree frog population is drawn from a genetically isolated wild population in the northern Brindabella Range, on the border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Protecting the genetic integrity of the wild population is a key aim of the captive breeding program.

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