Melbourne Veterinary School, University of Melbourne, Werribee, Victoria, Australia.
School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia.
PeerJ. 2023 Apr 21;11:e15179. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15179. eCollection 2023.
Amphibians are experiencing dramatic worldwide declines and many species are reliant on captive breeding programs to ensure continued survival. However, captive breeding in amphibians is not always successful because many species, especially ones in decline, have particular and specific breeding needs. The endangered alpine tree frog, , has never been bred in captivity before. Due to its dramatic declines across the Australian Alps caused by the global pandemic chytridiomycosis, the species is a potential candidate for captive assurance colonies, which rely on captive breeding. For this study we tested hormone induction using two hormones that have had some success in other amphibian species, to no avail. We then tried outdoor breeding mesocosms during the winter/spring at temperatures similar to their natural breeding season, which was successful. Sixty-five percent of the egg masses laid successfully hatched tadpoles. Females laid more than one clutch over the experiment indicating either a shorter than annual ovulation cycle, or that females are capable of partial ovulation during breeding events. Outdoor breeding mesocosms are a possibility outside the native climate of a species, provided that temperatures overlap with their natural environment. Here, we highlight that troubleshooting is essential before embarking on a captive breeding program of a species that has not been bred before. Hormonal induction of breeding is not always successful; therefore, outdoor mesocosms might be required to achieve healthy tadpoles.
两栖动物正经历着全球范围内的急剧减少，许多物种依赖于圈养繁殖计划来确保其持续生存。然而，两栖动物的圈养繁殖并不总是成功的，因为许多物种，尤其是那些数量减少的物种，有特定的繁殖需求。濒危的高山树蛙， ，以前从未在圈养环境中繁殖过。由于该物种在澳大利亚阿尔卑斯山的数量急剧减少，是由全球大流行的壶菌病引起的，该物种是圈养保证群体的潜在候选物种，这依赖于圈养繁殖。在这项研究中，我们使用了两种在其他两栖动物物种中已经取得一些成功的激素进行激素诱导，但没有成功。然后，我们在冬季/春季尝试了户外繁殖中观，温度与它们的自然繁殖季节相似，这是成功的。65%的卵块成功孵化出了蝌蚪。雌性在实验期间产下了不止一个卵巢，这表明排卵周期短于一年，或者雌性在繁殖期间能够部分排卵。在与物种的自然气候不同的地方，户外繁殖中观是一种可能的选择，只要温度与它们的自然环境重叠。在这里，我们强调，在开始一个以前没有繁殖过的物种的圈养繁殖计划之前，故障排除是必不可少的。繁殖的激素诱导并不总是成功的；因此，可能需要户外中观来获得健康的蝌蚪。
