The decline of amphibian populations, particularly frogs, is thought to suggest that Earth is currently undergoing a sixth mass extinction event.
Recent global climate change is well documented [44] and is confounded in time with the recent
declines of amphibians [2], which requires careful analyses to distinguish correlation from causation.
Not exact matches
Most
of Britain's fast -
declining populations
of reptiles and
amphibians, such as the great crested newt, live around small ponds that are unlikely to be listed, let alone protected, with the existing highly bureaucratic system
of SSSI designation.
Surveys
of amphibian and reptile populations stretch back to 1970 and, by compiling this data, Whitfield and his colleagues detected a calamitous
decline that no one had noticed: a 75 percent drop in the total amount
of amphibians over that 35 - year period.
New research from the University
of South Florida published in the journal Nature reveals that
amphibians can acquire behavioral or immunological resistance to a deadly chytrid fungus implicated in global
amphibian population
declines.
«The
decline in Madagascan
amphibians is not just a concern for herpetologists and frog researchers,» says Dr Franco Andreone from the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN), who is one
of the study authors.
First identified in 1999, B. dendrobatidis, or Bd, a fungal zoospore, has been named as a leading cause
of a global
amphibian population
decline, including frogs and salmanders.
The counts show a
decline of around 75 % in reptiles and
amphibians in native forest since 1970.
«There isn't any conclusive information that climate change is causing
amphibian declines at the sites we've examined,» says Cynthia Carey
of the University
of Colorado, Boulder.
It is thought to be responsible for a 12 per cent drop in the population
of one group
of Mexican lizards since 1975, and a 75 per cent
decline in reptiles and
amphibians in Costa Rica's native forests since 1970.
U.S. Geological Survey summary
of amphibian declines The
Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force Home Pages Joseph Kiesecker's Faculty Page Andrew Blaustein's Faculty Page
Mountain
amphibians in Central America have
declined dramatically, and around 50 per cent
of species, including the tree frog Hyla calypsa (pictured), are thought to have become extinct.
The fungus infects more than 600 species
of amphibian and has been implicated as the primary cause
of decline in more than 200 species.
The mystery
of amphibian decline continues to intrigue Hayes.
According to James Hanken, a biologist at Harvard University who heads a task force on
declining amphibian populations, «at least one - third to one - half
of all living species
of amphibian that have been examined in this regard are on their way down, and out.»
B. dendrobatidis infects more than 520
amphibian species around the world, has caused steep
declines in populations
of frogs and salamanders, and has driven some species into extinction.
If the suggested statuses are approved, together with the updated
declines of previously abundant in the area species, the proportion
of the threatened would rise to nearly half (48 %)
of the Mount Oku's entire
amphibian fauna.
It is widely recognised that
amphibians are among the most threatened animal groups: for example, in 2008, 32 %
of species were listed as «threatened or extinct» and 42 % were listed as in
decline.
Several species
of frogs, salamanders, toads and other
amphibians around the world have gone extinct or are disappearing («
Decline and fall
of the
amphibians», New Scientist, 27 June 1992).
Scientists have long been puzzled over why some species
of amphibians are on the
decline while others stay healthy.
«Bd is the first emerging disease shown to cause the
decline or extinction
of scores
of populations
of amphibians not otherwise threatened around the world,» Goldberg said.
The move is intended to keep out the deadly fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal, sister species
of the Bd fungus that has caused the extinction or
decline of countless
amphibian species.
Such a sudden and rapid depletion
of salamander species, especially ones with dense populations such as the eastern newt, could have «cascading effects» in affected ecosystems, says Michael Lannoo, a herpetologist at Indiana University and expert on
amphibian declines.
The findings, published today in the Proceedings
of the National Academy
of Sciences, suggest that concentrations
of chemicals considered safe for humans can have insidious effects on
amphibians and could be contributing to the global
decline in their populations.
Worldwide, Bd has been implicated in the
decline or extinction
of at least 200
amphibian species, and some biologists peg it as the driving force behind the largest disease - caused loss
of biodiversity ever recorded.
Hayes is interested in the impact
of chemical contaminants on environmental health and public health, with a specific interest in the role
of pesticides in global
amphibian declines and environmental justice concerns associated with targeted exposure
of racial and ethnic minorities to endocrine disruptors and the role that exposure plays in health care disparities.
Host resistance to the chytrid fungus
of amphibians Amphibians in Panama have experienced declines for over a decade due to the disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium... A
amphibians Amphibians in Panama have experienced declines for over a decade due to the disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium... A
Amphibians in Panama have experienced
declines for over a decade due to the disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium... AmphibiaWeb
There are multiple causes
of the detailed processes involved in global
amphibian declines and extinctions [107]--[108], but global warming is a key contributor and portends a planetary - scale mass extinction in the making unless action is taken to stabilize climate while also fighting biodiversity's other threats [109].
They are, in fact, so commonplace that, even with
amphibians being the victim
of worldwide
decline, our local toads seem, by and large, durable and stolidly passive observers
of the danger.
Since 1996, a central investigation focus has been the occurrence
of developmental deformities and population
declines among
amphibians.
The catastrophic
decline and extinction
of our planet's
amphibians, some believe, is due to a virulent fungus spreading around the globe.
Indeed, we have been critical in the past
of work suggesting a link between global climate change, the pathogenic
amphibian chytrid fungus, and
amphibian declines [link].
There have already been significant global
declines and even the extinctions
of some
amphibian species due to a similar species
of fungus, called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd).
The story focuses on the decadeslong body
of research pointing to near - worldwide
declines in
amphibians, as well as recent die - offs
of bats focused in the northeastern United States.
Forget the fact that numerous studies report worrying trends for many well - studied groups like birds and
amphibians (the latter that are experiencing a pandemic
decline and are excellent indicators
of the health
of the environment), you want us to wait until all
of our life - support systems are collapsing around us before you will say that, «OK, I believe it.
The global
decline in
amphibian numbers — 2 % since the 1950's, according to a study in Nature by Houlahan et al. (2000) should be a metaphor
of the miner's canary — after all,
amphibians are perhaps the best vertebrate indicators
of environmental quality.
The global
decline in
amphibian numbers — 2 % since the 1950â $ ™ s, according to a study in Nature by Houlahan et al. (2000) should be a metaphor
of the minerâ $ ™ s canary — after all,
amphibians are perhaps the best vertebrate indicators
of environmental quality.
Chytridiomycosis causes
amphibian mortality associated with population
declines in the rain forests
of Australia and Central America.
They wrote, «We now recognize commercial exploitation, introduction
of exotic species, and land use as ongoing causes
of amphibian declines».
There are multiple causes
of the detailed processes involved in global
amphibian declines and extinctions [107]--[108], but global warming is a key contributor and portends a planetary - scale mass extinction in the making unless action is taken to stabilize climate while also fighting biodiversity's other threats [109].
Our statistical analyses
of the histological results
of Ecuadorian frogs [57] support our hypotheses that it was unlikely (1) that Bd was present in Ecuadorian
amphibians prior to 1980 (N = 32, all negative, 95 % confidence limits [CL] = 0 — 0.108881), or (2) that Bd was present and infecting Atelopus ignescens in Ecuador prior to this species»
decline in 1988 (N = 89, all negative, 95 % CL = 0 — 0.040601).