Community | August 16, 2008 | 41 comments

Frogs on the verge of a major extinction

source: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-08/frogs-verge-major-extinction

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jefftego
Lots of amphibians (a third to a half of all species) are dying, and their deaths are the breaking-edge of what many scientists are calling the first mass extinction since the dinosaurs checked out 65 million years ago, researchers say in a new paper published online in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists are not sure when this extinction crisis began—it could have started 10,000 years ago, or during the industrial revolution, or this century. But we are definitely seeing an extinction “spasm” right now, say the Berkeley scientists, especially among our clammy, froggy friends. This extinction is unlike the five that came before it, according to the paper’s authors from UC Berkeley, because it has nothing to do with any asteroid impact, or volcanic surge, or great sea cooling. Instead, it may have almost everything to do with us. Amphibians made it through last time, when the dinosaurs disappeared. But with new, people-driven pressures on biodiversity, the survivors are now some of the most vulnerable.

Almost 200 amphibian species have gone extinct in the last few decades alone, with several pressures adding to the crisis. One is a fungal skin disease called chytridiomycosis, which has been implicated in mass frog deaths in Central and South America, and is claiming species almost everywhere else on earth, according to the paper. Scientists believe the disease spreads on amphibians introduced by humans into new environments. Climate change is also implicated, possibly as a trigger for chytrid infections, but also as a force of its own. Many amphibian species are adapted to live only in a small temperature zone, and montane species are particularly vulnerable to temperature shifts that can shrink the small slice of mountainside they inhabit down to nothing.

Habitat loss is another important player, impacting 90 percent of the amphibian species the IUCN lists as at risk of extinction. Warming (and the weather changes that go along with warming) shrinks habitats, as does humanity’s constant bulging expansion over more and more of the earth. Research into treatments for chytrid is ongoing, with new results with beneficial skin bacteria, but with human-caused climate change progressing, and habitats shrinking, the papers authors close their report with the worry that we may not be able to make a dent in this latest mass extinction, and even if we can, we have very, very little time to do so.
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41 comments // Frogs on the verge of a major extinction

  • Azucena
    • 0
      Azucena  

    • wow, the most vulnerable amphibians are the ones which have survived the whole dinosaur extinction?!thats scary. these are some strong animals that are capable to adjust themselves to there surroundings...we'v polluted so much that they just cant no more and this will throw mother nature off drastically.

    • 3 years ago
  • Eri_Soulja
  • Dr_Dank_Thumb
    • 0
      Dr_Dank_Thumb  

    • stop using petrol so much.... do your part.. instead of waiting start walking and riding bikes more.. use the city bus for once. turn off lights and open a window..

    • 3 years ago
  • Eri_Soulja
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  

    • When I was a kid, we would go camping by a large pond. The sound of the frogs at night was almost deafening.

      I was back there recently. I didn't hear a single frog. I think they are already extinct. At least there they are.

    • 3 years ago
  • DowncastHearts
    • 0
      DowncastHearts  

    • No! I like frogs. I want to save them! The are a important part or are life circle. Without them we'll have insects carrying and spreading disease faster then ever.

    • 3 years ago
  • dmfoster
  • heidilittle
    • 0
      heidilittle  

    • I have some frog friends that come to visit me at my home:)
      I love them, and they also mean leaps forward..

      I am so happy we're ready to save everything..
      Peace Love and Light

    • 3 years ago
  • go_green
  • go_green
    • 0
      go_green  

    • A bajillion years in the making... a few decades for mass destruction.

      People of the world,

      I think its pretty sad that we have messed up the world we live in so much. We have NOT just made it bad for us... this article proves it.

      WE are the ones to blame. How much pollution does a frog make? And how much does the human population make?

      Polar bears have not almost wiped out the human population. Why have we almost wiped out theirs? We have made thousands of polar bears die. From heat exhaustion. Thats not right. Its supposed to be cold where they live... WE have made them die.

      Whales.
      Polar Bears.
      Frogs.
      Penguins.
      Moose.
      Florida panther.
      Canada lynx.
      Brook/Cutthroat trout.
      Salmon.
      Mallard duck.
      American goldfinch.
      Sage grouse.
      WHOLE CORAL REEFS.

      Those are just the ones in the most danger of never being around again.

      For every species that dies, another has to.
      One species depends on another.
      When one is gone, the other follows close behind.
      Then the next, then the next... Then:
      us.

      xoxo,
      go_green

    • 3 years ago
  • NickerBocker09
  • SonofLiberty1
  • AxeRFJ
  • PlatoTacius
    • 0
      PlatoTacius  

    • There needs to be more exposure of this sort of thing. Most people have no idea about what's going on in the world...mainly because of the forces that are out there trying to negate these findings, trying to disavow climate change and the warnings of more disaster to come...

      How much evidence does it take..?

    • 3 years ago
  • ChrisWT
    • 0
      ChrisWT  

    • It's a good thing we haven't been trying to kill other species on purpose or we'd be like 800 species killed by us, 0 killed by them.

    • 3 years ago
  • isnamthere
    • 0
      isnamthere  

    • This seems to me to be an even bigger sign that humans are on their way to extinction. Not because the frogs are dying off, but because we obviously haven't learned to adapt to this world ourselves. Our greedy, selfish actions and our totally f*cked up attitude about the planet pretty much shows that we DONT adapt. We expect everything else to adapt to us. That's not how natural selection works. The species who survive are the ones who can adapt to their surroundings best, not the most arrogant who can force through violence the capitulation of every other living thing to adapt to the way we THINK things should go on this planet.

    • 3 years ago
  • crazy_french
  • BillionJawingNeurons
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  
    • Image

    • Here we go:

      It would seem that it's not just frogs, it's also the oceans, and the rain forests, and the butterflies, and apex predators, and...

    • 3 years ago
  • asherp
    • 0
      asherp  

    • Well, looks like Humans fucked up pretty bad.

      Oh well. Looks like another period of mass extinction, like the period at the end of the Permian era when 99% of all species died off.

      It was fun while it lasted!

    • 3 years ago
  • shelbyblo2010
  • shelbyblo2010
  • superfinet
    • 0
      superfinet  

    • we are seeing species actively disappearing, we are witnessing dramatic changes on our planet and we are overall, ignoring the issues which may very well lead to our extinction/survival thresh holds. We have no idea the implications of mass extinctions of a whole type of creature, and no idea how we as a species will react to their imminent deaths. I hope we aren't as connected to other species in symbiosis on the earth as we theoretically should be. All life on earth balances all others, and if we continue to grow unchecked then we may spell the end of earth as it has been known to us. GOOD LUCK GAEA!

    • 3 years ago
  • marvin0022
    • 0
      marvin0022  
    • superfinet:

      i ve always been a true believer in global warming and how it affects all aspects of life. to ponder the demise of mankind due to all the pollution we create boggles my mind.....

      rest in peace froggies

    • 3 years ago
  • regularrf
  • superfinet
  • futuregen
  • Eri_Soulja
  • Kati_kat
    • 0
      Kati_kat  

    • I'm telling ya, the more I see the increasing rate of extinction on this planet, the more I wonder how much longer we have. Not long is my bet...

    • 3 years ago
  • Armageddon_Now
  • zekezurdley
    • 0
      zekezurdley  
    • Kati_kat:

      Dec 21, 2012 super rare eclipse is how long I think we ALL have.

      Might as well enjoy them while we can!

      Dance, sing, travel, etc.

      The clock it ticking...can you hear it?

      tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...tick....tock........tick......tock............tick........................toc.....................ti.....................t.........................................................................................!

    • 3 years ago
  • Armageddon_Now
  • paraplegicemu
  • Mihrab
    • 0
      Mihrab  

    • poor widdle fwogs. I have a pacman frog so i sympathize with this spasm of frog extinction. We need to do something about this!

    • 3 years ago
  • teto007
  • thetrimsmith
  • zekezurdley
    • 0
      zekezurdley  
    • thetrimsmith:

      some organisms, like the ones that cause HIV, hepatitis, syphylis, bubonic plaque, ebola virus, ANTHRAX should be eradicated. Some organisms, like the ones that cause illnesses such as the ebola virus and anthrax could be used as WMD! Not all organisms are safe for society and if not kept in check could cause pandemic such as the Avian flu which could kill millions of people world wide!!!

      Peace,
      Zeke & Cherish

    • 3 years ago
  • h2ohno
    • 0
      h2ohno  

    • I'm glad this is hitting the headlines again. We have been losing the more sensitive species that stay under the radar for a long time now and hopefully with a more progressive outlook for the environment in the media we can expect it to make a small difference. Although it may be a little too late for some species.

    • 3 years ago
  • cheakywillie
  • Gephoria
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