THE GOLDEN TOAD LABORATORY FOR CONSERVATION
j; Alan Pounds & Marlene Breneshe Golden Toad Laboratory for Conservation
(GTLC), established under the auspices of the
MCFP and the Tropical Science Center, is de-
voted to research, applied conservation, and educa-
tion. Declining populations of amphibians and rep-
tiles are a primary focus. Conservationists founded the
MCFP in 1972 to protect the endangered Golden Toad
(Pounds and Fogden 1996). This species, which mys-
teriously vanished following a sudden population
crash in 1987 (Pounds 1990, Crump et al. 1992, Pounds
and Crump 1994, Pounds et al. 1997), has become a
symbol of the global amphibian crisis and the vul-
nerability of species to rapid extinction (see Pounds,
"Monteverde Salamanders," pp. 172-173).
The GTLC is located 0.5 km west of the MCFP
entrance. Facilities under construction in a second-
growth woodland that adjoins primary forest con-
tinuous with the MCFP include a laboratory (ca. 130
m^2 ), three outdoor screen houses (ca. 12 m^2 each),
several outdoor ponds, a research trail, and an am-
phibian greenhouse rain chamber (12 x 10 x 5.5 m).
The rain chamber, which doubles as an educational
exhibit, was built for frogs and toads. It includes a
central pond, a stream with waterfalls, and a system
for producing rain, all operated by electric pumps. A
rainfall catchment system, including a 19,000-liter
underground cistern, supplies water. A sound system
plays music—toad trills, thunderstorms, and the like
—to the amphibians that reside within.
The program of research and applied conservation
presently focuses on climate change, its effects on
natural populations (see Sees. 5.4.3, 5.7), and possible
strategies for mitigating these effects. In one project,
we are working with Meadow Treeirogs, which still
survive in the area but whose populations declined
along with those of the Golden Toad. These frogs are
important in the food web. They are the mainstay of
the Bronze-striped Parrot Snake, a harmless species
that was once the most common diurnal snake on the
upper Pacific slope but is now rare. We hope that by
caring for Meadow Treefrogs during their early life
stages, when survivorship is lowest, we can increase
their numbers and those of species that depend on
them.
During the 1996 wet season, we raised 3121 froglets
in the laboratory (from eggs collected at the ponds
we had built the preceding year) and released them
around the pond margins. On 28 April 1997, after the
first heavy rains of the year, we counted 91 adult
Meadow Treefrogs at the ponds. The maximum in
1996 was 20 (on 21 May). Encouraged by the increase,
we raised and released 12,000 froglets during the 1997
wet season. However, the number of adult frogs re-
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