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This bromeliad tree frog (Bromeliohyla bromeliacia) lives high up in the rainforest canopy of Honduras inside a tiny pool of rainwater captured by the leaves of a bromeliad plant. Since this frog never needs to come down to the ground, the photographer had to climb up to it. National Geographic Explorer Jonathan Kolby became certified in canopy access rope climbing techniques to enter the arboreal world and investigate whether this species is affected by the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus.
This fungus has been largely responsible for the decimation of the salamander, frog and toad populations in the U.S., Central America and Australia. Following a study by Kolby, which proved that amphibians exported from Madagascar were infected with chytrid fungus, research in 2015 partly funded by the National Science Foundation revealed that the fungus had indeed reached the island nation.Image credit: Jonathan Kolby/FrogRescue.com
