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Global Frog Population Faces Extinction
by
findingDulcinea Staff
A non-profit coalition of conservationists launches the "2008 Year of the Frog" campaign, trying to raise awareness of the crisis facing the world's frogs. There are theories, but scientists are still unsure why the frogs are dying.
30-Second Summary
According to the conservation group Amphibian Ark, nearly one third of all amphibian species are endangered.
“This represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity,” the group states on its Web site.
Conservationists are appealing to governments, corporations and the public in an effort to save the endangered amphibians.
Jeffrey P. Bonner, chairman of Amphibian Ark and CEO of the St. Louis Zoo, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that amphibians "play an important role in the food web as both predator and prey, eating insects, which benefits agriculture and minimizes disease spread."
“Their skin also has substances that protect them from some microbes and viruses, offering promising medical cures for a variety of human diseases,” Bonner said.
But why are amphibians disappearing? Experts have come up with several explanations.
One theory posits that the parasitic fungus "amphibian chytrid" is responsible. Highly fatal, the fungus can kill up to 80 percent of infected amphibians within a matter of months.
Conversely, Florida International University’s lead biologist, Steven Whitfield, attributes the decline in amphibian populations in the Southeastern United States to the effects of climate change.
Frogs and other amphibians rely on the cover of leaf litter for survival.
However, Whitfield told Scientific American that the “climate here is getting warmer and more consistently wet. This may impact leaf litter by increasing rates of decomposition or decreasing rates of litter fall.”
Regardless of the cause, it is clear that the number of amphibians in the world is diminishing.
In 2006, the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) found that of amphibian species threatened there are 9 critically endangered, 17 endangered, 12 vulnerable and 5 near threatened.
“This represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity,” the group states on its Web site.
Conservationists are appealing to governments, corporations and the public in an effort to save the endangered amphibians.
Jeffrey P. Bonner, chairman of Amphibian Ark and CEO of the St. Louis Zoo, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that amphibians "play an important role in the food web as both predator and prey, eating insects, which benefits agriculture and minimizes disease spread."
“Their skin also has substances that protect them from some microbes and viruses, offering promising medical cures for a variety of human diseases,” Bonner said.
But why are amphibians disappearing? Experts have come up with several explanations.
One theory posits that the parasitic fungus "amphibian chytrid" is responsible. Highly fatal, the fungus can kill up to 80 percent of infected amphibians within a matter of months.
Conversely, Florida International University’s lead biologist, Steven Whitfield, attributes the decline in amphibian populations in the Southeastern United States to the effects of climate change.
Frogs and other amphibians rely on the cover of leaf litter for survival.
However, Whitfield told Scientific American that the “climate here is getting warmer and more consistently wet. This may impact leaf litter by increasing rates of decomposition or decreasing rates of litter fall.”
Regardless of the cause, it is clear that the number of amphibians in the world is diminishing.
In 2006, the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) found that of amphibian species threatened there are 9 critically endangered, 17 endangered, 12 vulnerable and 5 near threatened.
Headline links: Year of the frog
In an effort to prevent the extinction of endangered amphibians, a non-profit coalition of conservationists called Amphibian Ark has declared 2008 the "Year of the Frog." CNN Money reports that the Clorox Company has officially become the group's first corporate sponsor.
Source: CNN Money
Background: Frog-killers and a potential fungus vaccine
Britain’s Daily Telegraph reports that the parasitic fungus, amphibian chytrid, is killing amphibians around the world. The fungus is highly fatal, capable of killing 80 percent of the infected amphibians within a matter of months. According to Jeffery P. Bonner, chairman of Amphibian Ark and CEO of the St. Louis Zoo, amphibian extinction would be catastrophic: “They play an important role in the food web as both predator and prey, eating insects which benefits agriculture and minimizes disease spread. Their skin also has substances that protect them from some microbes and viruses, offering promising medical cures for a variety of human diseases.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph
In April 2007, Scientific American reported that biologists from Florida International University had recorded a 75 percent drop in the total population of amphibians in the Southeastern United States. The decline took place over a 35-year period—from around 1970 to 2005. Amphibian biologist Joseph Mendelson states that as a result of frog decline, "There's a whole lot of things that aren't being eaten, mostly insects … and there are a whole lot of other creatures that don't have prey."
Source: Scientific American
A possible solution
As National Geographic news explained in May 2007, researchers from James Madison University (JMU) in Virginia reported that the natural bacteria on the backs of salamanders might slow the development of the fatal fungal disease. JMU researchers have suggested bathing amphibians with the anti-fungal bacteria as a way to build a “fire line” and stop the disease's spread.
Source: National Geographic
Reference: Amphibian Ark, Save the Frog and the Global Amphibian Assessment
Amphibian Ark states that the goal of their “2008 Year of the Frog” campaign is to “generate public awareness and understanding of the amphibian extinction crisis which represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity.” Amphibian Ark also offers ways in which the public can become involved with the campaign.
Source: Amphibian Ark
Save the Frog is a Web site dedicated to the conservation of amphibians. Affiliated with Amphibian Ark, the site also offers tips on how to get involved with the “2008 Year of the Frog” campaign.
Source: Save the Frog
In 2006, the Global Amphibian Assessment released a report on the state of amphibian decline. Of the “Red List” categories that describe amphibians threatened in some form, the GAA found that nine species were critically endangered, 17 were endangered, 12 were vulnerable and five were near threatened.
Source: Global Amphibian Assessment
Related links: George Orwell’s ‘Some Thoughts on the Common Toad’
In his 1946 essay, “Some Thoughts on the Common Toad,” George Orwell expresses his appreciation for the oft-overlooked amphibian. “His movements are languid but purposeful, his body is shrunken, and by contrast his eyes look abnormally large. This allows one to notice, what one might not at another time, that a toad has about the most beautiful eye of any living creature … I mention the spawning of the toads because it is one of the phenomena of spring which most deeply appeal to me, and because the toad, unlike the skylark and the primrose, has never had much of a boost from poets,” writes Orwell.
Source: George Orwell site
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