Question: Q: The Many Forces Driving Extinction

Among the many valuable comments that have come in so far on my piece about disputes over extinction rates, one deserves special attention. It comes from Joseph R. Mendelson III of Zoo Atlanta, whose work on vanishing frogs is the subject of an upcoming piece here.

A particular focus of his is Rabbs’ fringe-limbed treefrog. There are only two known living specimens, both refugees from a place in Panama devastated — like so many other amphibian habitats — by the spreading chytrid fungus. One frog is at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the one below at Zoo Atlanta. None have been heard calling in their home range since 2007. Both captive specimens are male. At the end of this post you can read what Mendelson has written about that terminal state of affairs.

Mendelson’s comment was made in an e-mail exchange I initiated with a batch of biologists focused on the rare and vanished:

Most of you likely don’t know me. I dwell on extinctions quite a bit these days. I cannot claim mastery of the equations being debated here, but I find the focus on habitat loss as the driver of extinction to be narrow minded. I don’t see the utility of focusing so much attention on arguing the quantification/estimation of extinction rates as a result solely of habitat loss.

The recent world (e.g., bats, bees, amphibians, corals) is showing us that there are far more pernicious forces at work, viz., emerging infectious diseases, climate change, agrochemicals. If nothing else, my career has shown me that the most wholly protected habitats on the planet are now devoid of a good percentage of their native flora and fauna.

Habitat protection, while crucially important, is not working and we conservationists seem to be the last to admit this. I know my message is often misinterpreted — I once signed in at a reception at The Nature Conservancy only to have the receptionist look up suddenly at say “Oh, Joe Mendelson — aren’t you the one saying we no longer need to preserve habitats?”

For the record: I have never said that.

A specific point, in response to John Alroy’s dead-on comment:

“Only in retrospect, when some future culture — human or otherwise — examines the fossil record, will the die-off be evident as a substantial pruning of the branches of the tree of life, he said. ”For the entire remaining duration of life on earth,” he said, ”this event we’re responsible for is clearly going to show up as a signature.”

I will add that this fossil record that we assume we are in the process of creating is more immediate than most of us realize. Much of it is not in the recent geological strata, but rather on the shelves of our natural history museums.

Hence the novel endeavor of “Forensic Taxonomy” that I describe in a recent essay — and where my colleagues in amphibian taxonomy and myself find ourselves in this age.

Here’s an excerpt from Mendelson’s must-read essay on the inevitable end game for the Rabbs’ treefrog:

There is no female that we know of, and one morning I will find the male at Zoo Atlanta dead of natural causes. I will collect tissue samples for phylogenetic studies, I will collect cells for San Diego Zoo’s Frozen Zoo initiative (perhaps one day it can be cloned?), and then I will preserve the specimen for the museum shelf. Shall I post a video clip on YouTube so people can watch the frog move about, like the famous film clip of the last thylacine? Then I will return to my lab, take a jar off the shelf and proceed to describe another new species of frog that used to exist somewhere in the world.

Here’s the YouTube video he mentions, of the last known Tasmanian tiger:

A: A student of vanished and vanishing amphibians warns other biologists against focusing on habitat loss as a gauge of extinction.


Q: LEVESQUE CALLS A VOTE IN QUEBEC AS HIS SUPPORT APPEARS TO EBB

OTTAWA, March 12— Premier Rene Levesque was expected to dissolve Quebec's National Assembly tonight and call an election for April 13 in a bid to obtain a new mandate for his pro-independence forces.

Mr. Levesque, who stunned Canada in November 1976 by leading the Parti Quebecois to victory in the French-speaking province, appeared to face an uphill fight to hold power after his defeat last year in a referendum on the independence question. A rejuvenated Liberal Party, under the leadership of Claude Ryan, is favored at the moment to make a comeback after its 1976 defeat.

To overcome the handicap of its referendum defeat, the Parti Quebecois has promised not to hold another referendum during a new term. It has, however, left open the option of calling a new election at any time on the independence issue.

While putting aside the independence goal for the moment, Mr. Levesque is leading a fight, with seven other provincial premiers, against a series of proposals by Ottawa to establish a new constitution that would include a bill of rights applicable to both the Federal and provincial governments. Defense of Quebec's Autonomy

Because the proposals, particularly those pertaining to minority language rights, are alleged to intrude on provincial jurisdiction, a major issue of the campaign is expected to be the defense of Quebec's autonomy within the federal system.

Mr. Ryan has also taken a stand against the federal proposals and faces the difficult task of opposing Ottawa and his fellow Liberal, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, without appearing to side with Mr. Levesque.

Mr. Ryan's major argument has been that the Parti Quebecois, because of its espousal of separatism, is opposed to federalism and is not qualified to discuss reform of the federal system.

The election call came two days after the Government introduced a budget that appeared likely to serve more as part of the electoral platform than as a serious piece of legislation. The budget proposed some reductions in taxes for low- and middle-income groups and a high deficit. If the Liberals win, it will be a dead letter. Likely to Stress Economy

Mr. Levesque, in another effort to play down the independence issue, as in his successful bid in 1976, is expected to emphasize the economic and social progress that his Government sought to promote.

Past polls have shown a high degree of voter satisfaction with the way his Government has performed, and the theme of ''good government'' is due to be stressed during the next month.

At a news conference today, Prime Minister Trudeau threw the prestige he maintains in Quebec behind Mr. Ryan by denouncing the separatist philosphy of the Parti Quebecois.

He declared that ''the aim of that party is to take Quebec out of the federation'' and added, ''I don't see why it should be rewarded at the polls by those who don't believe Quebec should be taken out of the federation.''

A:
Answer: Premier Rene Levesque was expected to dissolve Quebec's National Assembly tonight and call an election for April 13 in a bid to obtain a new mandate for his pro-independence forces.   Mr. Levesque, who stunned Canada in November 1976 by leading the Parti Quebecois to victory in the French-speaking province, appeared to face an uphill fight to hold power after his defeat last year in a referendum on the independence question. A rejuvenated Liberal Party, under the leadership of Claude Ryan, is favored at the moment to make a comeback after its 1976 defeat.