Help bring Madagascar’s rarest frogs into ZIMS: Sponsor Association Mitsinjo
- By Gavrielle Kirk-Cohen
Madagascar’s first biosecure amphibian facility working to safeguard amphibians from extinction, is ready to bring its animal records into the Species360 Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) and we’re looking for a Species360 member to support them through our Conservation Connections program.
The island of Madagascar is one of the world’s most vital and endangered biodiversity hotspots on the planet. It is home to 434 described frog species, almost all of which exist nowhere else on Earth. With an additional 200+ candidate frog species recently identified, this puts the country supporting more than 8% of the world’s frog species.
In the rainforest town of Andasibe, a local conservation organization called Association Mitsinjo has spent over a decade working to protect them. Their Amphibian Survival Assurance Center of Andasibe is Madagascar’s first biosecure amphibian facility working to safeguard amphibians from extinction, and it’s now ready to bring its animal records into ZIMS.
We are looking for a Species360 member institution with amphibian expertise to sponsor their Species360 membership through our Conservation Connections program and in doing so, build a global working partnership. This is a wonderful opportunity for a Species360 member to support vital conservation work protecting threatened amphibians in Madagascar. For this opportunity in particular, the real value lies in what a sponsoring institution and Association Mitsinjo can build together through data and knowledge sharing.
To help the partnership get off to a strong start, we are looking for somebody with ZIMS experience who is interested to travel to Andasibe in December or January and work alongside the Mitsinjo team, entering animal records into ZIMS together over several weeks. Amphibian Ark’s Program Director of Africa and Asia, who helped establish Mitsinjo’s facility over a decade ago, will be in Madagascar during this period to be on hand to support in-country coordination. Amphibian Ark has kindly offered to support local costs for the person coming to Andasibe including accommodation.
Association Mitsinjo and the frogs of Andasibe
Association Mitsinjo is a community-based organization founded and staffed by local residents from the Andasibe region in east-central Madgascar. Working in Analamazaotra Forest Station near Andasibe National Park, Mitsinjo integrates nature-based tourism, reforestation, environmental education, and wildlife conservation and research in one of Madagascar’s most biodiverse landscapes.
The Amphibian Survival Assurance Center of Andasibe
In 2011 Association Mitsinjo launched the Amphibian Survival Assurance Center of Andasibe. Through a contract with the Direction Générale des Forêts and the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Amphibian Specialist Group of Madagascar, the center has kept over a dozen local species, and now manages a genetically viable population of the Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca), offspring from which are being used for introductions at created breeding ponds.
The center studies the ex situ care requirements of poorly understood species so that, should a threat emerge that cannot be addressed in the wild in time, a colony can be established rapidly. This function is particularly important in the context of amphibian chytrid fungus Bd, for which there is no cure in wild populations. Establishing ex situ assurance colonies remains one of the few available actions to prevent local and even species-level extinctions.
The facility is run by Mitsinjo staff from the Andasibe area who manage husbandry, biosecurity, and live food production for the amphibians. The broader Mitsinjo team also conducts long-term amphibian population monitoring in the area, helping monitor for and detect declines as they occur.
The Center is supported by several zoos globally, and is a partner of the Amphibian Ark.
Why ZIMS matters for Amphibian Survival Assurance Center of Andasibe
The center manages ex situ populations of rare and sometimes data-deficient species, many of which are represented in few or no other institutions. Bringing their husbandry and medical records into ZIMS would create a traceable, standardized record for species that are currently data-deficient in global databases. Every data point on these species’ husbandry, reproductive biology, or veterinary intervention entered into ZIMS strengthens the collective knowledge available to institutions working with these and related species.
For Association Mitsinjo, ZIMS membership provides access to global animal management resources, species and population benchmarks, and the wider Species360 network of conservation professionals. For the broader zoo and aquarium community, it adds a new node of amphibian data from one of the world’s most biodiverse and under-represented regions. And for the supporting organization, it offers a collaboration opportunity: your team’s expertise in amphibian husbandry and care could be a helpful resource for the Mitsinjo team, and their unique field knowledge, their long-term monitoring data.
How the Species360 Conservation Connections program works
The Conservation Connections program allows Species360 member institutions to sponsor an annual Species360 membership for an ex situ conservation partner at a significantly discounted rate. The sponsorship grants the partner full access to ZIMS for all their animal data and management needs. All proposals are reviewed and approved by the Species360 Board of Trustees.
Sponsoring Association Mitsinjo’s membership is a direct and tangible contribution to amphibian conservation in Madagascar. The cost is low. The impact on the data record for these species, and on the team managing their survival, is meaningful.
Get involved
If you are interested in supporting Species360 membership and ZIMS access for Association Mitsinjo, please contact the Species360 Global Member Development team at Membership@species360.org
