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Esta página no está disponible en español. Big Island Declares Frog Emergency…New Weapon Found To Fight Coqui… Coqui Population Increases 150% On Maui
Big Island Declares Frog Emergency April 17, 2004 HILO, Hawaii (AP) - Big Island Mayor Harry Kim has declared a state of emergency because of an expanding infestation of shrieking coqui frogs. The move is in hopes that it will motivate federal funding to fight the quarter-size frogs, according to Bill Kenoi, the mayor's assistant in charge of the coqui effort. The proclamation says as many as 8,000 coquis can inhabit an acre in their native Puerto Rico, but in the absence of predators in Hawaii, their numbers in Hawaii could reach 10 times that density. Maui and the Big Island have seen an increase in the pesty frogs, while Kauai and Oahu have eradicated them. The coqui frog, known by the scientific name Eleutherodactylus coqui, is about 2 inches long and emits a piercing, shrill sound that makes sleeping difficult for some people. It also threatens to destroy native species in Hawaii by eating them and their food. Coqui frogs are beloved in their native Puerto Rico as a symbol of the island. They likely ended up here in shipments of tropical plants. New Weapon Found To Fight Coqui Use of slaked lime requires EPA approval By Jan TenBruggencate, ADVERTISER SCIENCE WRITER March 29, 2004 State agriculture officials are working toward U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval to use hydrated lime to control coqui frog populations. The product, commonly used as a soil amendment to reduce acidity, is also called slaked lime or calcium hydroxide. It is cheaper and in some ways easier to use than the other common coqui frog-control chemical, citric acid, said Kyle Onuma, the state Department of Agriculture weed specialist in Hilo, Hawai`i, who figured out that hydrated lime might work. Onuma said he used lime when he grew ginger commercially, and recalled that if it got on his skin, he would feel a burning sensation if he sweated. Since coqui frogs have moist skin, he though it might work against the animals. It did. Both citric acid and hydrated lime attack the frogs' skin and cause death within a short time, he said. Researchers across the state have been trying to find ways to control the coqui ever since they began spreading on several islands. The small frogs, known to science as Eleutherodactylus coqui, come from the Caribbean. They have an extremely loud chirping call at night. The noise can be deafening when there are large numbers, and although Puerto Rico residents often say they find the calls calming, many Hawai`i residents find them annoying. The frogs are spreading on O`ahu, Maui and the Big Island. A Kaua`i population in Lawa`i Valley appears to have been controlled. Scientists used caffeine to kill the frogs for a time, but EPA registration of that use has expired. The only legal chemical means of control right now is citric acid, which must be sprayed at night in a 16 percent concentration. However, citric acid can burn plants unless it is washed off within an hour of use. Hydrated lime, available at any garden shop, is considerably cheaper than citric acid. It can be mixed with water and applied to low plants and the ground during the day, when the frogs may be hidden in leaf litter and rocks, said Larry Nakahara, manager of the Department of Agriculture's Plant Pest Control Branch. The department has sent its proposal to use the product for comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Hawai`i and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Once comments are reviewed and changes made to the documentation, the state will submit a request to the EPA for registration of calcium hydroxide as a pesticide for the coqui. Some folks are using it now, technically as a soil amendment rather than a pesticide. "Eventually, the hope is that we get a lot of different techniques for controlling the frogs. In some situations, it might be better to spray one product rather than another," Nakahara said. For more information about the coqui, check these Web sites: www.hawaiiag .org/hdoa/coqui.htm; www.hear.org/AlienSpecies InHawaii/species/frogs/in dex.html. Coqui Population Increases 150% On Maui January 20, 2004 WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) - Colonies of the invasive coqui frog on Maui have increased 150 percent over the past two years, county environmental officials said. Between 100 and 110 colonies have been reported from Haiku to Kapalua, up from 40 reported in 2002, said Maui County Environmental Coordinator Rob Parsons. About 20 of those sites have been confirmed as having coqui frogs, the rest have not been confirmed due to lack of manpower, Parsons said. "It is very well recognized it's almost a now-or-never proposition," said Parsons, noting that the state must do something now to stop their spread. While eradication efforts have been successful on Oahu and Kauai, environmental officials said last year that the tiny frogs have become so widespread on Maui and the Big Island that total elimination was unlikely. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is requesting $5 million in additional state funds for all invasive species. Parsons said Maui County officials plan to ask the county to spend $50,000 in emergency funds to fight the frogs. "We need the ability for more response because we know about some of these places where there are coqui frogs, but we don't have the money or manpower to respond to them all," Parsons said. The coqui frog, known by the scientific name Eleutherodactylus coqui, is about 2 inches long and emits a piercing, shrill sound that makes sleeping difficult for some people. It also threatens to destroy native species in Hawaii by eating them and their food. Coqui frogs, beloved in their native Puerto Rico as a symbol of the island, likely ended up in Hawaii in shipments of tropical plants.
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