世界上的无尾两栖动物大约有五、六千种，尽管形状各异、大小有别，体色也各不相同，但基本上可分为蟾类（toads）和蛙类（frogs），通常情况下为了简便叙述就统称为蛙类（frogs），身体一般都在几厘米到十几厘米之间，其中大者如我们在菜市场或餐馆的笼子里看到肥硕的美国牛蛙。当然，我们在游山玩水的时候偶尔也可能会碰见更大的蟾蜍，或者特别小的青蛙。但是，这些都不是世界上最大和最小的蛙类。其实，目前世界上最大的蛙只生活在西非，而最小的蛙则在南美。不过，英语俚语中那池塘里的大蛙（the biggest frog in the pond，biggest frog in the puddle，biggest toad in the puddle）我们倒是随时可见，因为那专指我们生活中众所公认的大亨或者大头头！ 世界上最大的蛙（The largest frog in the world）巨蛙 因其出生在非洲，又叫非洲巨蛙。英文名叫Goliath frog或Giant Slippery Frog，1906年由著名两栖动物学家Boulenger发现并命名，在科学上的名字（学名）叫Conraua goliath。在生物分类学上属于动物界（Animalia）、脊索动物门（Chordata）、两栖动物纲（Amphibia）、无尾目（Anura）、蛙科（Ranidae，台湾叫赤蛙科）。不过，近来科学家认为这种蛙和其他局限于撒哈拉以南非洲的一些蛙应该属于另一个与蛙科不同的家族Petropedetidae科，他们可能起源于非洲南部的大陆，具有高度的生物多样性。 之所以认为巨蛙是世界上最大的蛙，是因为成体体长通常有30cm，体重达3公斤。据报道1989年有人曾经抓到体长达36.83厘米、体重有3.66公斤的巨蛙。如果这个蛙站起来，高度可达87.63厘米。这可真是相当的高了！ 巨蛙分布非常狭窄，生活于非洲撒哈拉沙漠以南、西非加蓬附近的喀麦隆和赤道几内亚的一千米海拔以下的地区，其分布北至喀麦隆加河末段200公里、南至赤道几内亚姆比尼河（博尼特河）末段50公里这样的范围内。通常生活在茂密的雨林中的清澈的湍流中，常聚集在瀑布下。巨蛙属于凶猛的食肉动物，在水中所到之处能捕到的都会成为它饱餐的对象，如昆虫、虾、鱼和小型的蛙类等。这种蛙背部绿褐色，体侧黄色，体表粘滑，寿命可达15年，听觉很敏锐，但没有声囊，因此可以说是蛙类中的哑巴，大自然蛙类中悄无声息的巨大杀手。 (左图:绿色为非洲撒哈拉以南地区，红色为赤道几内亚，粉红色为喀麦隆；右图:巨蛙分布区域) 和绝大多数两栖动物一样，巨蛙在水中繁殖，繁殖期在7、8月间。交配前，雄巨蛙会沿河边修筑产卵繁殖地，或者在河中用石头围成半圆形的产房。雌蛙产数百粒卵，黏附在生长于河底的植物上，大约85-90天后蝌蚪才完成发育，变成小巨蛙。蝌蚪性本善，不似其父母喜大鱼大肉，而是纯粹的素食主义者，以瀑布和湍流中的植物为生。目前对巨蛙的繁殖了解很少，雄性巨蛙也没有其他蛙手指上特化的婚垫，真不知道它在交配抱对的时候是如何抓牢雌巨蛙的，也许就因为它巨大，力大无比，不需要这样的特殊结构，赤手空拳就可以轻而易举地将雌蛙手到擒来，哈哈。 巨蛙不仅体型肥硕巨大，而且后肢肌肉异常发达健壮，是著名的跳远能手，立定跳远可达3米以上（有报道说可跳20英尺，那就是6米多阿，可以称得上世界冠军了。据传立定跳远的世界纪录是3.476米，是一个身高1米8左右的小伙子创造的。看来这个身高不足人一半的蛙确实堪称立定跳远世界冠军纪录创造者了哈哈）。因此，也被作为宠物引入美国进行蛙跳比赛。但是，巨蛙较难人工饲养，更不能人工繁殖。 俗话说：人怕出名猪怕壮！巨蛙也不例外，其世界之最的名气为它也招来了杀身之祸，成为许多标本收藏者捕猎的对象。在西非，巨蛙不仅是当地有些人餐桌上的野味，其售价比其他猎物要高许多，而且也具有一定的药用价值。因此，巨蛙也是当地的贸易对象之一。 由于栖息地的破坏、过渡食用和贸易，过去15年来成年巨蛙的数量已经减少了50%多，在今后15年将会以同样的速度衰减，因此2004年世界自然保护联盟将巨蛙列为濒危物种加以保护。值得庆幸的是赤道几类亚政府也对巨蛙的出口作了严格限制，每年出口额不超过300只。 照片来自网络，地图修改自网络 由于格式问题，出现了乱码。很抱歉！！！ 修改于2009年6月2日
最近，世界自然保护联盟欧洲委员会（IUCN for European Commission）在国际生物多样性日（IBD，5月22日）公布了欧洲第一个两栖动物和爬行动物红色名录。这是对欧洲两栖爬行动物种群现状和发展趋势的最新研究，结果令人担忧。 在85种两栖动物中，有59%的种群处于衰减中；而在151种爬行动物种中，衰减的程度也很大，高达42%，远远高于欧洲的哺乳动物和鸟类。被红色名录列为受胁的比例也不小，两栖动物为23%，爬行动物为21%，其中3种两栖动物（包括一种蛙和两种蝾螈）和六种爬行动物（包括两种蜥蜴）被列为极度濒危物种，这些动物有在野外灭绝的危险。欧洲的两栖动物和爬行动物的受胁程度远高于当地的哺乳动物和鸟类，后者分别为15%和13%。导致这种状况的原因主要在于人类对这些动物生存环境的破坏，以及气候变化、环境污染和外来物种的入侵。 生物多样性是人类赖以生存的物质基础，是社会文明、生态文明与安全的基石，生物多样性的衰减引起了许许多多国家政府、组织、政要、学者和环保人士的高度重视和关注。早在1992年，153个国家在联合国环境与发展大会上就签署了《保护生物多样性公约》；1994年联合国大会通过决议确定了国际生物多样性日，今年的多样性日刚刚过去不几天。 我国是公约缔约国，这些年来通过多种途径致力于保护生物多样性的工作，成立了多种组织和管理部门，如中华人民共和国濒危物种科学委员会、中国科学院生物多样性委员会、国际生物多样性计划中国委员会、教育部高等院校生物多样性指导委员会、中国生物多样性信息中心等等，投入了大量经费用于多样性的调查、研究和保护工作。 我国是世界上生物多样性最为丰富的国家之一，其中两栖动物和爬行动物种类位列世界第五。根据2002年IUCN和保护国际（IC）组织的两栖动物评估结果和2004年出版的《中国物种红色名录》记载，我国321种两栖动物有11种处于极度濒危状态，23种处于濒危状态，1种已经在野外灭绝。随着近年来我国两栖动物物种多样性研究的发展，我国两栖动物物种数已经超过400种。在这些蛙和蝾螈中，到底有多少处于受胁状态，至今尚无一个完整的答案！ 在众多的影响因素中，过渡利用是导致两栖动物种群衰减的一个重要因素。法国蛙腿是欧洲人餐桌上的一道大餐，已经成为风靡全球的美味佳肴。据欧美和新加坡学者的联合研究报道，全球青蛙的贸易量在过去的20年中每年至少增长了2亿只，每年估计有10亿只青蛙被人类捕食。我国也是蛙类资源利用大国，林蛙养殖已经成为东北和内蒙东部山区的主导性养殖产业。东南诸省捕食野生棘蛙、树蛙、臭蛙、沼蛙、虎纹蛙等已习以为常不仅环境变化、城镇化建设等等已经使我们很难卧听蛙鸣坐看小蝌蚪找妈妈了，而且过渡的利用也是隐居深山的蛙们惨遭抢劫和掠杀。 利用和保护是相互冲突的，犹如利剑的双刃，唯有基于保护的科学养殖才能缓解这种矛盾！也只有大力开展保护研究和普及保护意识才能让这些生命与我们共舞！否则，它们将随风而逝
Health Articles / Bird Flu Protection There are two articles on this page the first one written by Malcolm Green in September 2005 and the second by vet Alan Jones in late October 2005 and published with permision of Alan and The Parrot Society UK. Here is a quick link to Alan's article. Avian Flu ?what can you do? By Malcolm Green of The Birdcare Company (written in September 2005) There is little doubt that one of the most troubling issues facing bird keepers this year is avian flu H5N1. Even the government is getting excited about it as they fear it will mutate into a variety that will easily transmit from human to human and lead to an epidemic. Of course this part of the story is far from inevitable. What does seem certain is that migratory birds will bring this new disease to North America this fall and that some poultry and exotic collections will be affected. So far the virus seems to have a very high mortality rate in the birds (and humans) it has infected in SE Asia. However these birds are probably kept in less than ideal conditions and fed inadequate diets so the risk in America may be far less devastating. You have access to modern, sophisticated products that should help enormously. In the absence of vaccines there are really only three ways to effectively deal with viral diseases - good hygiene, good bio-security and effective support for the bird's own immune system. Fortunately these same issues make sense for other infectious germs and they even contribute to improved breeding performance. So they make sense anyway. Bio-security I will deal with bio-security first. This is all about keeping nasty germs away from your flock. We Europeans were all given a lesson in this on our televisions during the foot and mouth epidemic a few years ago. 1.Start by roofing outdoor aviaries to reduce the contamination risk from wild birds. 2.Make sure you and your clothes are clean before you visit your birds. Consider a disinfectant foot bath outside your bird room. Make sure your disinfectant kills viruses as well as bacteria and will remain active for a long time. Most disinfectants are only active for a few hours after diluting with water. Enviroclens is strongly recommended and used by many vets and will last for up to six months. However we would recommend changing it more frequently than that if you contaminate it a lot with soil and dirt. 3.Disinfect your hands between everything you handle with a hand scrub that has broad spectrum activity such as Enviroclens Alcohol Hand Scrub. This product air-dries quite quickly after application so is not time consuming to use. 4.Use a water sanitiser in all drinking water. Water is a major cause of spreading diseases between cages. Saniclens is designed for use with birds and has been proven by thousands of bird keepers over many years. 5.If you have infected or suspect birds isolate them from the rest of your flock. Always feed the healthy birds first and change and wash clothes immediately you leave any infected birds. 6.Do not wash feeders and drinkers from healthy and infected birds in the same washing-up water. Use a combined disinfectant/cleaner to wash all cages and utensils such as Enviroclens. 7.If you do buy new birds in then follow strict quarantine procedures. Hygiene It would be easy to say that the right thing to do is to keep everything in your bird room spotlessly clean and sterile. Your birds would never be exposed to germs and so they would never get ill. Of course this is Utopia and not practical. This is not necessarily the best advice either as the immune system needs to be challenged to work most efficiently. However, if your birds are at risk strict hygiene is essential. Baby birds (especially hand reared ones) do not have well-developed immune systems so they need extra special care. Ensuring that feed and water containers are cleaned properly and that cages are routinely disinfected is simple sound advice. The really important factor to consider is whether your disinfectant kills a broad spectrum of germs. Many only kill bacteria and yet, as pointed out earlier, we have already discovered that viruses are a major threat. Don't forget the risk from yeasts and fungi too. Enviroclens is effective against viruses, yeasts, fungi and bacteria. It is also an excellent cleaner so is great for removing bird droppings from cages and perches. It can be used as a washing-up liquid or sprayed onto cage walls and perches and left to dry. There is no need to remove birds from the cages. The most attractive features of Enviroclens are its pleasant smell and economy. Because it stays active in water for up to six months most people dilute it in a spray bottle and apply it that way. This uses far less disinfectant than the usual cloth and bucket technique. The immune system This is probably the most important weapon we have against viral and other infections. Sadly it is probably the least recognised option in aviculture. The immune system is working all the time to protect you and your bird from invading organisms. To describe it as a single 'system' is something of an oversimplification. It actually works at a number of different levels. Your birds' first line of defence is its skin and the membranes that line the surfaces of the gut and respiratory tract (a sort of internal skin). Apart from being a barrier the cells in these surfaces produce chemicals that kill many germs. Natural anti-biotics if you like. For cell membranes to function effectively they need an adequate supply of vitamin A. Since dry seeds contain virtually no vitamin A it is not surprising that the immune system of many cage and aviary birds is not very effective! The vast majority of germs and many toxic chemicals should be cut off by this first line of defence however some get in through cuts or simply overwhelm the system. The second line of defence is the white blood cells. There are lots of different white blood cells and they operate in many different ways. To simplify the subject I will briefly describe three mechanisms. In the first attack white blood cells literally surround and devour the invading germs. This is really easy to understand though the mechanism by which the invader is recognised is very complex. The battle becomes much more difficult when the invading germs have entered your bird's cells. Viruses use the host's cells to multiply. At this point the host cells themselves have to be destroyed by white cells. This is the stage in your common cold when you, not surprisingly, have a very sore throat. It may hurt but this sore throat is evidence that your immune system is engaged in the battle. At the third level yet other types of white cells produce antibodies. These are proteins that lock onto the germs and prevent them from invading the host's cells. These are the equivalent of 'smart bombs'. Unless the immune system has been invaded by the same germ before, the design, development and production of antibodies takes time as each new germ needs a tailor-made solution. Once an antibody has been produced its design is stored away in yet another type of white cells. Amazingly the body may only retain three cells amongst trillions with each magic formulation in it but, when the same germ strikes again, the production of antibodies is rapid and effective. This is the principle behind vaccination. Unfortunately the development and licensing of vaccines is extremely expensive so only a few bird diseases have been covered. No cage bird vaccines are licensed in the UK and relatively few in North America. Any limited supplies of vaccines against bird flu will first of all go to health workers and vets involved in dealing with any cases. You and your birds have no chance of getting any! One key issue about immunity is that the system needs to be challenged regularly for it to function efficiently. This is why birds kept in totally sterile environments are very vulnerable to contact with other birds from less hygienic aviaries. So hygiene is a balancing act. Too clean is bad. Too dirty is bad! Supporting the immune system So what can we do to enable our birds to mount an effective immune response when faced with a germ invasion? The first thing is to get the fundamental nutrition right. Birds that are vitamin and mineral deficient simply cannot respond effectively. Their cell walls will be poorly formed and they cannot repel invaders or fight back rapidly. Producing billions of white cells in a short period of time will be impossible. Sadly, through lack of knowledge, most cage and aviary birds around the world are not fed satisfactory diets. Research in America suggests that the number of malnourished birds is as high as 98%! Many bird vets will tell you that 90% of the cases they see have malnutrition as the basis of their illness. This does not mean that bird keepers don't care, it simply highlights the lack of good information available. Secondly we can help by minimising stress. Stress reduces the immune response. This can be caused by poor housing, moulting, breeding, poor nutrition (again), overcrowding, changes in housing or companionship, over exposure to germs and a host of other factors. It is commonly reported that many drugs depress the immune response. So care should always be taken when considering whether drugs or immune support are the best options. And remember there are no anti-viral drugs available for your birds! The biggest problem with stress is that it feeds on itself. A stressed bird gets ill. Illness causes stress. It is not surprising that some birds die so quickly! Many wild animals are capable of treating themselves when they get ill. Somehow they are able to identify plants and other materials that help them feel better. Many of these are plants that, if eaten in large quantities, would be poisonous to the animal. However in moderation they hurt the germs more than the host. Unfortunately our captive birds are unlikely to have the freedom of choice and food selection to respond to sickness in this way. We could respond to sickness in our birds by using appropriate herbs but this requires excellent stockmanship (to detect the problem early) and a detailed knowledge of herbal medicine. However by carefully selecting safe herbs The Birdcare Company is able to give natural support to birds as part of their regular diet. These herbs can prevent some specific diseases, support the digestive system (prebiotics) and help the immune system. We incorporate some of these ingredients into our Feast range of softfoods making them quite unique in the health benefits they provide. Although Feast is proving more and more popular with parrot owners many prefer to add the herbal supplement Flourish to moist foods instead. Feast and Flourish are part of the firm's more extensive supplement system and readers are strongly advised to ensure their birds are also getting Daily Essentials 3 and CalciBoost for fully comprehensive supplementation. You have read quite a lot about white blood cells in this article. For them to have a powerful impact on disease they need to be produced in their billions in a very short period of time. Each cell has to be complete so all the raw materials required for cell production must be available in adequate quantities. Partly we are back to the basic nutrition story again. More importantly each new cell needs a complete compliment of genetic material. This can very quickly get into short supply especially when the bird is under infectious attack. So, when birds get infectious diseases, we recommend products with extra quantities of these key ingredients. We call this our 'white cell support system' and you will find it in Guardian Angel. The Flu and you Our white cell support system is available for you too. The product FightBack is designed for human use and provides excellent immune system support. Take it at the first sign of any infection (sore throat, swollen glands etc) and help your immune system fight the invaders! AVIAN INFLUENZA By Alan Jones B.Vet.Med, M.R.C.V.S Ornithology, avian medicine surgery In the light of recent extensive publicity on Avian Influenza, the Parrot Society UK has the following comments: The situation is changing from day to day and requires regular monitoring in the light of latest developments. Since changes are so rapid, printed reports are quickly outdated. Please use the PSUK website for the latest details. Such monitoring should NOT rely on the alarmist articles in the tabloid press, which suggest we shall all be dying in the next few weeks of this disease. Rather rely on balanced scientific evidence given by PSUK and DEFRA ( www.defra.gov.uk ). Sensational news sells newspapers! I repeat comments made earlier: The avian influenza virus exists in wild populations of waterfowl, and is brought into the UK every winter by migrating birds. We have never had epidemics of avian influenza occurring in parrots before. The most susceptible species are waterfowl and poultry; whilst it has been reported in pigeons, parrots, raptors and other species, such events are so unusual as to be reported in scientific journals. The recent death of just one parrot out of a large group in quarantine supports this, and that bird was infected because of close contact with infected finches from Asia. Virulent strains of the virus infecting waterfowl will kill these birds before they reach these shores, unless the virus spreads further west across Europe. Importation of the virulent virus into this country is most likely to occur via poultry products or imported infected birds. Provided we continue to ban poultry products from known infected areas, then the former should not be a problem. Our quarantine methods for the importation of birds will prevent the release of the virus into the country, as has been proved by the above mentioned reported case of the parrot from South America. Birds smuggled in illegally pose a different problem that requires addressing. Perhaps a temporary ban on parrot imports should be called? This will give time for a longer term discussion on the benefits or otherwise of this trade, while aiding the immediate control of spread of the virus. The Parrot Society supports the idea of such a ban. Just over 60 people have died in the last two years of the H5N1 strain of avian 'flu virus in S E Asia. Over 12,000 people die every winter in the UK alone of ordinary human influenza. This gives some kind of perspective to the worldwide problem. Look at the scaremongering about SARS a few years ago, with people travelling around airports wearing face masks ?did that ever develop into the predicted worldwide mortalities? Currently reported human cases have occurred almost exclusively in humans exposed to concentrated levels of avian influenza virus, owing to the living conditions of poultry in close proximity to humans in S E Asia. The scare is that the H5N1 strain of avian 'flu will mutate into a form that will spread from human to human, thus making an epidemic more likely. This is a big 'if', requiring simultaneous infection of a human with both avian and human strains of the virus for such mutation to take place. Whilst health authorities have to be prepared for such an eventuality, the likelihood is still very low. Predicted numbers (guestimates?) of 50,000 people dying in the UK are pure alarmist guesswork, and in any case are not massively above the normal influenza mortality rate. Comparisons are made with the 1918 pandemic, in which millions died worldwide. Times have changed since then: nursing and isolation facilities have improved no end; antibiotics are available to treat secondary infection; anti-viral drugs are available to treat the worst affected; vaccines can be produced quickly once a pathogenic strain is identified; early warning and detection are both much improved in the last 100 years. Vaccines are available for poultry, BUT ONLY in doses suitable for chicks of a few days old, and they are given in drinking water to flocks of several hundreds. This vaccine is NOT effective in other species nor in adult backyard poultry. Currently available influenza vaccines given to vulnerable human patients every winter may offer some cross-protection to avian influenza, but specific vaccines produced for the particular strain would be more appropriate. Government contingency plans suggest that sufficient will be made available in the event to vaccinate every person in the UK, but initially those in the frontline of risk ?avian rescue centres, wildfowl collections, poultry workers, avian veterinarians ?will be offered protection. Indoor pet parrots should be quite safe. You DO NOT need to have your much-loved pet budgerigar or parrot put to sleep in case it gives you avian influenza!! Outdoor aviary birds are theoretically at more risk, especially if sited close to ponds and lakes with waterfowl, or poultry farms. Such aviaries should be covered with Perspex sheeting to prevent contamination with wild bird droppings. Food and water bowls should be regularly cleaned and disinfected; food stores should be sealed from possible contamination by rodents or wild birds. Food, water, and sleeping areas should be sited where wild birds cannot gain access. Visitors to the aviary should be monitored, and banned if coming from a suspect area. In other words ?the normal bio-security methods that we should all be taking on a regular basis anyway, to control diseases such as Newcastle Disease, Salmonellosis, Psittacosis, PBFD, PDD, etc? Be vigilant! Look out for sick or dying wild birds in the area. Check your birds for signs of bad breathing or sore eyes, or loss of vitality. Even if present, these do not necessarily mean avian 'flu, many other infections will produce such signs, but they should be investigated. Certainly for the moment further gatherings of birds at local clubs or other shows is not a good idea. Apart from the slight potential risk of spreading infection, it will fuel the anti-bird publicity that is rife and benefiting from the current situation. Witness the publicity in the newspapers this weekend, and especially in the Daily Mail of Saturday 22 November. This prominent article has obviously been prompted by the anti-birdkeeping lobby, and they have jumped on the bandwagon of the current avian 'flu hysteria to attack the P S show at Stafford. Representatives from DEFRA and the RSPCA were present, as well as several avian vets, and all were satisfied with the standards at the show. However, the fact remains that such publicity will go against the Society and others in the field, and if more shows take place in the near future (Newark, Kings Lynn) in the face of the present situation, there is no doubt that further publicity will do aviculture no good at all. The fact that the Daily Mail article simply regurgitates old arguments and examples from protectionists' past campaigns, and that the photograph is of a cockatoo with PBFD are irrelevant ?the damage is done. It is still a very large picture of a very sick bird, and to Joe Public it will stick in their minds and looks awful! At the moment, the risk of Avian Influenza being introduced into the UK remains low. The risk of humans being infected is even lower. However, we need to remain vigilant and take sensible precautions as outlined above. Contingency plans have been put in place by Government, Human Health and Veterinary authorities, and DEFRA, and regular updates of the situation are posted on the DEFRA website. Such information should be noted in preference to the scaremongering of the popular media, and there is no cause for panic at this stage as far as parrot, parrakeet, and other cage and aviary bird keeping is concerned. Alan K Jones 24/10/05 . （求各位高手的译稿）
权利人真需要保留所有权利吗 ? 著作权法保护作者的两类权利：人身权和财产权。其中人身权包括发表权、署名权、修改权、保护作品完整权等精神权利，财产权则主要是以复制权为核心的从作品中获得经济利益的权利。在开放存取出现以前，唯一的版权声明方式是保留所有权利（ All Rights Reserved ），即未经著作权人同意，使用者不能随意对作品进行传播、复制、下载、打印等处理。这种对任何作品都声明保留所有权利，已经被滥用到任何人都可能触犯版权法的地步，而且使得很多优秀作品得不到广泛传播，无法实现效益最大化。作者发表论文，尤其是科技学术论文，很少出于考虑为获得直接的经济报酬，目的主要还是在于学术交流，让更多同行了解和认可，共同发展本学科领域的知识。因此，现在越来越多的学者开始意识到自己并非需要保留所有权利，相反他们更愿意选择保留部分权利（ Some Rights Reserved ）或不保留权利（ No Rights Reserved ）。在 OA 出版模式下，作者选择的是保留对作品的部分权利，同时通过授权许可协议（最常用的是创作共享许可协议）对使用者尽可能的开放其他权利，一般而言作者保留的是精神权利，放弃的是财产权利。 笔者主张和呼吁，为扩大作品在网络环境下的传播效益最大化，版权人应舍得放弃，采用保留部分权利的版权声明，适当让渡和放弃部分权利，于人于己均好。
标签: 保护
