Two of every five amphibians threatened with extinction, reveals study

Subject : Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context:

A new paper analyzing two decades of data from around the world has found that climate change is emerging as one of the biggest threats to frogs, salamanders, and caecilians.

About the study:

The assessment evaluated the extinction risk of more than 8680 amphibian species from all over the world, including 2,286 species evaluated for the first time. More than 1,000 experts across the globe.
Nearly 41% of all amphibian species are currently globally threatened while 26.5% of mammals, 21.4% of reptiles and 12.9% of birds are threatened.
These data will be published on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Amphibian Red List Authority is a branch of the Amphibian Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission and managed by Re:wild, a wildlife conservation group.

Why are amphibians particularly threatened by climate change?

The data revealed that two out of every five amphibians are threatened with extinction. Climate change was the primary threat for 39% of these species.
Amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in their environment.
Amphibians are becoming climate captives i.e. unable to move very far to escape the climate change-induced increase in frequency and intensity of extreme heat, wildfires, drought and hurricanes.
Threats include:
- Habitat destruction and degradation as the result of agriculture (crops, livestock like cattle and livestock grazing, and silviculture), infrastructure development and other industries are the most common threats.
- Habitat destruction and degradation affect 93% of all threatened amphibian species.
- Disease caused by the chytrid fungus – it decimated amphibian species in Latin America, Australia, and the United States – and overexploitation.
Three out of every five salamander species are threatened with extinction primarily as the result of habitat destruction and climate change, making them the world’s most threatened group of amphibians.
North America is home to the most biodiverse community of salamanders in the world.

Already extinct amphibian species:

Four amphibian species were documented as having gone extinct since 2004 — the Chiriquí harlequin toad (Atelopus chiriquiensis) from Costa Rica, the sharp-snouted day frog (Taudactylus acutirostris) from Australia, Craugastor myllomyllon and the Jalpa false brook salamander (Pseudoeurycea exspectata), both from Guatemala.
Twenty-seven additional critically endangered species are now considered possibly extinct, bringing the total to more than 160 critically endangered amphibians that are considered possibly extinct.
The assessment also found that 120 species improved their Red List status since 1980.

An action plan for conservation:

Of the 63 species that improved as the direct result of conservation action, most improved due to habitat protection and management.
Amphibians play a key role in keeping carbon-storing ecosystems healthy.

Species survival commission (SSC):

The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) works independently and with the different IUCN Units to build knowledge on the status of species and threats to them and to provide advice, develop policies and guidelines and facilitate conservation planning.
Through this work, SSC catalyzes conservation action and enables IUCN to influence policy and assist societies in biodiversity conservation.
Their work include: SSC members provide scientific advice to conservation organisations, government agencies and other IUCN members, and support the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.
Vision: “A just world that values and conserves nature through positive action to both prevent the loss and aid recovery of the diversity of life on earth.”

Re:Wild:

Re:wild launched in 2021 combining more than three decades of conservation impact by Leonardo DiCaprio and Global Wildlife Conservation, leveraging expertise, partnerships and platforms to bring new attention, energy and voices together.
Re:wild’s mission is to protect and restore the wild to build a thriving Earth where all life flourishes.

Source: TH