2014 there was widespread publicity concerning the amphibian conservation crisis and the need for CBPs. However, despite this effort the number of official CBPs only increased by ~60% (Harding et al., 2015), and some consider that the available resources for official CBPs are only capable of adequately supporting ~50 species (Bishop et al., 2012; Clulow et al., 2014).

Fazey et al. (2005) found that the sustainable
management of biodiversity relies on collaboration
that includes policy, management, project
analysis, public relations and the media. The
desirability of including private keepers in
official CBPs has been known for over ten years
(Beetz 2005). However, official policy regarding
amphibian CBPs was drafted without the
inclusion of private keepers. The resultant
policies excluded KCBPs because of an assumed
inability to provide sufficient quarantine (AArk,
2017e). However, although there are reviews
supporting various approaches to the

management of amphibian CBPs (Tapley et. al., 2015, 2017; Zippel et al., 2011), to our knowledge no data based information regarding keepers ability and willingness to conduct CBPs has been published.

Methods

An Internet based survey of the potential of amphibian KCBPs was conducted through email networks, in English between January and October 2013, and between February and June 2013 using Survey Monkey™. Survey design conformed to Survey Monkey™ best practices (Survey Monkey, 2014) and questions included multiple choices, rating scales, Likert scales and demographic information, which were randomized in order to reduce bias.

Questions investigated the participant’s interest in their societies managing CBPs, and keepers’ facilities, current collections, and success in breeding amphibians. Social and cultural questions included nationality, age, age of first interest in amphibians, information sources, publications, and social networking. Management questions included the need for recognition as official CBPs, participation in policy making, and attitudes toward amphibian harvest, trade, and the sale of surplus amphibians from CBPs (Tabs. 1-11). The order of questions and the order of responses within questions were randomized to minimize bias.

Survey responses were categorized into polities as nations, regions, and pools of western versus

other polities. Western polities were defined by a long history of industrialization, Greco-Roman philosophical traditions, and Judaeo-Christian theological backgrounds. Other polities included all other nations or regions. To provide a perspective of the current capacity of keepers’ collections we canvassed experts, long familiar with keeper collections mainly in western polities and excluding Japan, and tabled the species in keepers collections, their numbers, and those successfully bred. We discuss survey results in respect to politics, policy and management, quarantine, release, harvest from nature, CITES regulations, and studbook management.

Use of statistics

High respondent numbers provide statistical confidence in our survey results (Survey Monkey, 2014). Survey results were analyzed from two perspectives; general questions were by comparison within the total percentage of respondents, and in facilities and husbandry questions by comparison to the total numbers of amphibian keepers. Individual responses were averaged for national or regional polities, and these averages were the primary data for comparison between western and other polities. For the tables a two-sided difference between proportions tests, realized in STATISTICA (Statsoft Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA).

A difference of 5% between comparisons of general questions in Tables 1-5, 9, 10 and 11 provides a significant statistical difference (P < 0.05). Because of the lower number of keepers than respondents a difference of 10% between comparisons of keeper questions in Tables 6, 7 and 8, provides a significant statistical difference (P < 0.05). For readability in the text we have generally rounded percentages off to five in the tables and text.

Results

There were 350 responses in total with 296 in English and 54 in German. Responses that did not specify nationality and those that only answered the first few questions were excluded. The final analysis consisted of 313 survey responses with 230 from western and 83 from other polities. Half of all respondents were amphibian keepers, however, the percentage was much higher in western polities (61%) than other polities (18%; Tab. 1).

30

Journal of Zoological Research V2 • I1 •2018