Our little green friends play a vital role in the ecosystem. Yet they're vanishing off the face of the Earth at an alarming rate. Greater than 70% of the world's amphibians are in decline. It is the greatest mass extinction event since the dinosaurs. But this is hardly a chance accident. Global warming, shrinking habitats, and pesticide use are key factors.
Pesticides are reaching amphibian populations all over the world. Even amphibians in remote locations in California have accumulated several current-use pesticides - including fungicides - into their bodies. This was revealed by a team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Also, other studies, such as a study by German researchers, led by Carsten Bruehl at the University of Coblenz-Landau, further analyzed the role of pesticides and fungicides in the population decline of amphibians. The research team tested 150 juvenile European common frogs (Rana temporaria) in a lab, where the frogs were placed in containers with soil on which barley was grown. "The demonstrated toxicity is alarming and a large-scale negative effect of terrestrial pesticide exposure on amphibian populations seems likely," researchers wrote on the paper. (Nature World News). We also link to several other studies and news articles below that discuss the role of toxic, man made chemicals in the mass destruction of the amphibian population.
This isn't just bad news for the amphibians. It's also bad news for humanity as well. After all, amphibians play a key role in the ecosystem as a natural bug catchers. As amphibian populations die off, the number of pests will boom; including pests like mosquitos and the diseases they carry.
FILM:
The Thin Green Line
A documentary about the mass extinction of amphibians.
ACTION:
Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (PDF)
STUDIES:
Trends in Amphibian Occupancy in the United States (PLOS)
The cause of global amphibian declines: a developmental endocrinologist's perspective (NCBI)
ORGANIZATIONS:
ARTICLES:
Chytrid Fungus - Causing Global Amphibian Mass Extinction (Amphibian Ark)
Worldwide Amphibian Declines (Amphibia Web, 8-30-15)
Tragic Deaths of Amphibians (National Geographic, 4-6-14)
Pesticides Causing Population Decline of Amphibians: Study (Nature World News, 1-25-13)
Frog Deaths Are A Harbinger of "Sixth Mass Extinction" on Earth (iO9, 8-12-08)
Climate Change Drives Widespread Amphibian Extinctions
A new 2006 study provides the first clear proof that global warming is causing outbreaks of an infectious disease that is wiping out entire frog populations and driving many species to extinction. (National Science Foundation, 1-11-06)
New Culprit in Deaths of Frogs (The New York Times, 9-16-97)