Frogs, Other Amphibians Disappearing at Alarming Rate
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GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A new study has determined for the first time just how quickly frogs and other amphibians are disappearing around the United States, and the news is not good.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday that populations of frogs, salamanders and toads have been vanishing from places where they live at a rate of 3.7 percent a year.
That puts them on a path to disappearing from half their inhabited sites nationwide in 20 years.
USGS ecologist Michael J. Adams said the alarming news is that even species thought to be doing OK are declining, though at a slower rate, 2.7 percent a year.
“These are really ancient species that have been surviving a long time on earth through all kinds of changes,” Adams said. “It’s just a concern to see.”
The data showed that species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list of declining species were disappearing from sites at an even higher rate, 11.6 percent a year. That would result in half the sites being unoccupied in six years. A third of amphibian species are on the red list.
“They just disappear,” Admas said. “Populations are going away.”
It has been known for a long time that amphibians are in trouble around the world from a killer fungus, habitat loss and a changing climate, but this is the first time that decline has been measured, Adams said.
“We are not making predictions,” he added. “We are just trying to document the current trend.”
Researchers plan to continue monitoring amphibians, giving scientists a way to measure how effective future efforts are in protecting and restoring the animals, Adams said
The study conducted by the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative was published Wednesday in the online journal PLOS One.
Scientists from USGS monitored hundreds of ponds, streams and other sites in 34 study areas around the country for the past nine years, returning two or three times a year to see if they were occupied and by what species. Most of the sites were on public lands with some level of protection.
“It’s troubling that even on what are basically protected areas, we are seeing declines on average,” Adams said.
Andrew Blaustein, a professor of zoology at Oregon State University not involved in the study, said the results were not surprising, because scientists have been worried about amphibians since the early 1990s.
“Now we need to continue to look at the causes, which will not be simple, because as the study suggest, they may involve factors that are not limited to local regions,” he said in an email. “Many agents, including disease, atmospheric changes, pollutants, changes in climate etc. may interact with one another.
“We should continue our efforts to save these animals because of their importance in ecosystems.”
Adams said it was difficult to help amphibians cope with something as big as climate change, but steps were being taking to remove more localized threats, such as non-native species of fish that eat amphibians.
Online: The study published on PLOS One: http://bit.ly/12Nxina
Thanks to NewsChannel5 for article contributions.
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Okay, I am a book lover and an animal lover, so I looked up Dan Brown’s book _Inferno_. I can get it in audio format, but it’s 17 hours long – audio format is my preferred because my vision is so poor! It is also the fourth in a series of books about Robert Langdon that are written by Dan Brown. This series includes _The Da Vinci Code_, of which I’ve never had any desire to read. Do you think that it may be worthwhile for me to get this particular book and read it without experiencing the others? I’m looking for advice, here. I have listens to a sample of the book (on audible.com), and I at least do not find the narrator offensive (in no way that a narrator can be; I do NOT like all narrators). What are the advantages of reading (listening to) the book?
You don’t need to read the others Marsha, or to even know what they’re about, to read Inferno. I occasionally listen to audio books, particularly when cutting grass or working on the farm. I can’t listen while working on the computer because it’s distracting to both. I prefer using a Kindle, or iPad, because I can enlarge the text to the point where I don’t need my glasses.
It isn’t only amphibians. Other species, even more critical to our survival, such as bees, are also in rapid decline.
Perhaps we are in the “end times” or maybe Dan Brown’s new book, “Inferno” is more accurate than anyone knows.
I find it all terribly depressing although I’m loving “Inferno.” Hard to put down…
One thing I find depressing is that I was contemplating a book very much on the same lines, but delayed far too long. When you reach the end, after winding through many plot twists, you will have had the essence of what I had in mind.
I’m not nearly as good at the plot twists, though. 🙁