ASG Updates: New ASG Secretariat! By Ariadne Angulo and Phil Bishop
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here are some recent and noteworthy news on changes in the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) Secretariat. Since midJune 2014 Ariadne Angulo is now the new Co-Chair of the ASG together with Phil Bishop. Ariadne has been involved with the ASG since its beginning, first as a regular member and then as the Amphibian Red List Authority (RLA) Coordinator (the Amphibian RLA is part of the ASG). Last year Ariadne was elected, together with Co-chair Giussepe Gagliardi, as regional Co-Chair for Peru. Together, Ariadne and Giussepe have strived to mobilize the ASG Peru membership and its activities, providing opportunities for capacity building in Red Listing, establishing new partnerships with key Peruvian collaborators, and promoting greater communication among members and more participation in national and international processes in amphibian conservation. Ariadne and Giussepe have even more plans for ASG Peru, and Ariadne hopes that it may be possible to adapt the model used in ASG Peru in other regions, in addition to creating new models that may be better suited to other realities. Together with Phil Bishop and the ASG team, Ariadne has some major plans for ASG, so please stay tuned for news over the coming months.
of amphibian chytridiomycosis in Africa and Europe, biodiversity and systematics of amphibians in Central Africa and more recently developing new approaches for studying aquatic biodiversity based on environmental DNA analysis on water samples. ASG, however, would not be here today had it not been for the key people who made it possible in the first place. Claude Gascon’s leadership as Co-Chair since the ASG’s inception has led to landmark contributions to international amphibian conservation, such as the significant fundraising efforts for the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA), the merger between the Global Amphibian Specialist Group (GASG) with the Declining Amphibian Population Task Force (DAPTF), which led to the current ASG, the realization of the Global Amphibian Conservation Summit, the publication of the resulting Amphibian Conservation Action Plan, and the implementation of important field projects. Robin Moore and James Lewis, previous ASG Program Officers, were also key in developing ASG. Robin has been instrumental in the former ASG habitat protection program (now under the Amphibian Survival Alliance, ASA), as well as in the initial development of FrogLog, and the concept was later scaled up and amplified significantly by James Lewis. As many of you know, James has galvanized ASG over the last couple of years, and has brought much dynamism to the group with his many achievements. Fortunately for us Claude, James and Robin will all remain involved with amphibian conservation in their new roles within the ASA. The ASG Secretariat has some big shoes to fill. However, it stands on the shoulders of giants, and it is confident that together, as a group, ASG will continue to develop as the go-to network for science for amphibian conservation. We hope that you, amphibian conservation biologists, can join ASG in this exciting journey!
ASG Co-Chairs Phil Bishop and Ariadne Angulo.
In addition to Ariadne’s appointment, we now have a fantastic team of dynamic and driven ASG Program Officers: Sally Wren Helen Meredith, and Jos Kielgast. Sally spent several years working at the Zoological Society of London where she carried out IUCN Red List assessments for the Sampled Red List Index (SRLI), helped develop the EDGE Amphibians project, and spent time managing both the EDGE Fellows Programme and ZSL’s Mongolia Programme. Sally has a BSc in Zoology from Imperial College London, an MSc in Conservation from University College London, and is currently working on a PhD at the University of Otago, which focuses on improving conservation methods for the native New Zealand frogs (Leiopelma spp). Helen Meredith is currently working towards her PhD, which investigates ways of improving the impact of amphibian conservation, and is currently based at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology, UCL and the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology. She spent five years developing and coordinating the EDGE Amphibians Programme at ZSL, and continues to play an active role in conservation programs globally and awareness-raising activities that promote understanding of amphibians and their plight. Jos Kielgast is a PhD student at the University of Copenhagen at Section for Freshwater Biology and Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate. His research has focused on the epidemiology
ASG Program Officers: Helen Meredith, Jos Kielgast and Sally Wren.
WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN ASG AND ASA? The IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) is the world’s largest global network of the leading amphibian experts focused on amphibian conservation and providing scientific guidance to the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA), the world’s largest partnership dedicated to amphibian conservation worldwide and whose focus is to implement global conservation action.
FrogLog 22 (3), Number 111 (July 2014) | 7