IVF may be the only way to save Hellbenders from extinction.

[Alyrium Denryle]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... 0snototter

Christine Dell'Amore

National Geographic News

Published August 20, 2010

It may be a shot in the dark, but freezing sperm is one of the last chances to save the hellbender, North America's biggest salamander, conservationists say.

Hellbenders—also known as snot otters and devil dogs—have dwindled throughout their range, which once encompassed streams from northeastern Arkansas to New York.

The 2.5-foot-long (0.7-meter-long) amphibians have declined by 80 to 90 percent in most of their traditional watersheds in recent decades, and healthy populations now haunt only isolated pockets of southern Appalachia (see map) and Pennsylvania, said Dale McGinnity, curator of reptiles at Nashville Zoo.

All of the states in the hellbender's range have protected the species, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently reviewing whether to give the hellbender federal protection, McGinnity said.

The reasons for their decline is unknown, but it's likely environmental contaminants such as pesticides are harming the creatures via their highly permeable skin, he said.

To make matters worse, hellbenders don't seem to be breeding much in the wild, he said, possibly because human-made pollutants containing synthetic hormones are damaging the amphibians' reproductive systems. Pollutants may also be harming the species' eggs or larvae.

As a result, there are apparently very few wild hellbenders in existence, leaving mostly aged individuals—the amphibians live at least 30 years and could live much longer.

(See photos of vanishing amphibians in National Geographic magazine.)

The hellbender's decline spurred an international team to collect sperm from some captive salamanders in September 2009 for cryopreservation, a common zoo practice that freezes sperm without damaging its cell membranes.

Though several zoos have put a "great deal of effort" into breeding the amphibians in captivity, none has been particularly successful, McGinnity added. It's unclear why they're tough to breed.

"For the first time, sperm was collected from a living salamander, cryopreserved, and brought back to life," said McGinnity, who is involved in the sperm-preservation effort with colleagues from Belgium's Antwerp Zoo and Michigan State University.

A sort of "insurance policy" against extinction, the sperm will enable scientists to manage hellbender breeding, according to team member Dalen Agnew, a reproductive pathologist at Michigan State University.

For instance, scientists can use the stored sperm to crossbreed individuals, he said, to ensure that wild hellbenders are genetically diverse, he said. Genetic diversity is important because if closely related salamanders breed, their inbred offspring will be weaker and more susceptible to disease.

(See "Human Sperm Gene Traced to Dawn of Animal Evolution.")

Sperm-Filled Salamanders

Despite their hellish monikers, the "big, flaccid creatures" are actually "very mellow," Agnew said.

This docile nature certainly helps scientists collect salamander sperm, which is "milked" out of a hellbender by rubbing it between the front legs and tail, said Nashville Zoo's McGinnity.

(Watch a National Geographic Channel video of herpetologist Brady Barr "kissing" a hellbender.)

Agnew also found that the hellbender sperm cell—like those of other amphibian species—boasts a ribbon of tissue encircling the tail. Magnified 40 times, it "almost looks like a corkscrew spinning," Agnew said.

The winding tissue likely adds a jolt of horsepower to the sperm cell, he said. (Related: "Sperm Recognize 'Brothers,' Team Up for Speed.")

So far Agnew and colleagues—including Nashville Zoo's Sally Nofs and Michael Kirk and Antwerp Zoo's Robert Browne—used a unique "recipe" of preservation ingredients to keep hellbender sperm viable for six months—ideally, the sperm could be stored for hundreds of years.

Snot Otters Unchanged Since Dinosaur Days

Hellbenders haven't changed much since dinosaurs ruled the world, which puts the amphibians in nearly a class of their own, Nashville Zoo's McGinnity noted.

There are only two species related to the hellbender: the Chinese giant salamander (picture) and the Japanese giant salamander, which are also in decline. (Read about a new giant-salamander breeding center that opened in July in Washington, D.C.)

"If we lose them, we lose a lot of evolutionary history, as this group is unique and unlike anything else."

It is really sad that we have gotten to this point. Between coal mining destroying their watersheds and agriculture fucking with their reproduction, we are looking at losing a very old and very special species. Why? Because the EPA is corrupt as fuck just like the Department of the Interior.

[Alyeska]

Would putting a species such as the Hellbender on the endangered species list, could that theoretically be used to shut down significant elements of coal mining on the east coast? Is the law that powerful?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Would putting a species such as the Hellbender on the endangered species list, could that theoretically be used to shut down significant elements of coal mining on the east coast? Is the law that powerful?

Yes, it is. The ESA prevents any federal agency from authorizing, funding, or performing any action which will destroy or adversely modify critical habitat for a listed species. Any large scale activity such as mining or logging requires a federal permit. This also means that pesticide use within the watersheds in question would also be prohibited.

[Alyeska]

The absolute power behind the act and its prohibitions means that the coal companies will lobby long and hard and corrupt anyone they can to stop it from being used. The status of a variety of species on the East Coast could and should have shut down coal mining a long time ago.

[Alyrium Denryle]

The absolute power behind the act and its prohibitions means that the coal companies will lobby long and hard and corrupt anyone they can to stop it from being used. The status of a variety of species on the East Coast could and should have shut down coal mining a long time ago.

I agree, they should have. A lot of things such as the use of pesticides should as well. Often the matter is one of conflict of interest as well. During the whole Atrazine clusterfuck that ended with the EPA concluding, despite all evidence, that the chemical in question does not in fact sex reverse frogs; Ron Kendall was on Sygenta's Scientific Advisory Board, in the EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Taskforce, Chaired the EPA's Scientific Advisory Panel on Atrazine, ran Sygenta's Study Panel, and edited the journal that the Study Panel published to which handily explains how their shitty research methods managed to get themselves published. His lab also produced the current VP of Sygenta and shortly after his appointment was given a multimillion dollar contract by the same. Can you say "Data Falsification"? I knew you could.

There is absolutely no reason to think that the coal industry does not take advantage of similar conflicts of interest. The EPA also does not use primary literature from independent scientists when making its determinations. Instead it uses studies performed or contracted by the company seeking a permit or regulatory approval. So, an environmental impact assessment performed with regard to coal mine runoff performed my Massey Energy. Yeah... That is going to be really reliable.

[Alyeska]

I wonder why the GAO hasn't been set loose on the EPA already. I've seen the GAO tear other government organizations a new asshole all the time over falsified reports and data.

Anyway, as to the actual topic at hand. It is sad to see another species suffering like that. Especially a unique one with a long history. Other than obvious things such as we already covered, what other methods are viable to try and help the species?

[Alyrium Denryle]

I wonder why the GAO hasn't been set loose on the EPA already. I've seen the GAO tear other government organizations a new asshole all the time over falsified reports and data.

Anyway, as to the actual topic at hand. It is sad to see another species suffering like that. Especially a unique one with a long history. Other than obvious things such as we already covered, what other methods are viable to try and help the species?

Tell me about it.

There is not much. Their decline is not really all that complex. The only hope for the species at this point is to breed it, but there is little viable habitat left. We may be looking at something like the Axolotl. Extinct in the wild (or nearly so), existing only in captive collections.

[LadyTevar]

"Snot Otter" is a new one, I've never heard Mudpuppies called that before. However, it fits well with their large size and slimy skin.

In WV and KY, so many habitat streams have been buried until Mountaintop Removal Fill that it may already be too late for the species in this region. Even if there was a viable breeding program, where could they be stocked? They need fast moving streams with low flat rocks they can lair beneath, with a healthy population of crawdads, minnows and other small aquatic animals. Even streams that haven't been filled in have problems with acidity and mine, farm or industrial run-off.

The WV DNR is trying to revive many 'trout streams' on the Cranberry/Gauley River watershed by hauling powdered limestone to headwater and feeder streams. The theory is the powdered limestone will wash downstream with rainfall and dissolve, balancing the pH. They are also dumping xmas trees, logs, and rocks into streams to create better fish habitat, forming pools and eddies in streams that have been running too straight and fast for trout to breed. So far, the program seems to be working, with several previously 'dead' streams returned to healthy trout fisheries.

The question is, how is that affecting Mudpuppies? More shelter for fish is good for fish, as is using rocks and logs to criss-cross the stream and make it run slower here, faster there. The change in water flow allows sand to deposit in some areas, while keeping others clear and rocky-bottomed. A mix of pools and eddies is a natural feeding and spawning ground for fish, flies, tadpoles, and crawdads, which in theory should make great Mudpuppy habitat. The question is simply, are there enough wild Mudpuppies left to take advantage of it?