While scientists argue over what factors are to blame, more than 40 percent of amphibious species are at risk for "imminent extinction."
By JASON KOEBLER
If you happen to see a frog hopping around in your back yard, take a good look— it might not be around for much longer. Ecologists are increasingly warning that due to habitat destruction, widespread infectious disease and climate change, amphibians are facing "extinction in real time."
As many as 40 percent of amphibious species, which include frogs, salamanders and newts, could be facing "imminent extinction," according to David Wake, a researcher at the University of California Berkeley.
"It's happening around the world … we're seeing it on our watch," he says. "People talk more about birds or mammals because they are charismatic, they're in the public eye. I'm concerned about rhinos and tigers, too, but in the meantime, we're losing the things that are in our backyard."
Scientists first began noticing the decline in the late 1980s, but despite increased awareness, amphibious populations haven't grown.
"If anything, the problem has gotten worse," Wake says. "The attention we've given to it has led to some surprising discoveries," such as Chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease caused by a fungus that lives around the world and has a near 100 percent mortality rate in amphibious animals. So far, biologists haven't been able to stop the disease.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!