Why Are The Frogs Dying Analysis

Most amphibians are critically endangered and this is explained by the spread of chytrid, habitat loss, and overexploitation. Researchers are saying chytrid is the explanation for the enigmatic decline. This fungal disease affects almost all amphibians by attacking their skin, eventually giving them a heart attack and killing them. Habitat loss, by climate change or deforestation, is also extremely dangerous as many amphibians only have a few places they can survive (i.e. spotted frog only has 3 places to thrive). As well, climate change can change the amphibian’s environment so great that the species can no longer survive in their habitats.

    Recently, an invasive and lilliputian frog has had a detrimental effect on the Hawaiian environment. Originally from Puerto Rico, the amphibian arrived in Hawaii and spread like a plague. Such a small frog cannot have that big of an impact, right? Wrong. The Coqui frog is a damaging invasive species of the Hawaiian islands due to its lack of natural predators and adaptability, dangerous eating habits, and its easy distribution among the state.

The importance of El Valle De Anton spurred the movement to create systems to preserve frogs worldwide. In Panama a town name El Valle De Anton once deeply respected their golden tree frogs, and ironically they were not disturb when the frogs started disappearing. When the corpses started to pile up, the scientific community began to become concerned and began an effort to preserve the golden frog species and what they found was that frogs from around the world had been plagued by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis-batrachos (or “Bd” for short). This plague is very hard to stop, as we cannot purge the entire planet of the disease, and the plague spreads incredibly quickly.

The article discussed the changes in many habitats due to anthropogenic activity. Anthropogenic is an adjective that describes changes in nature due to the people. Next, this article discussed climate change and the impact that it is having on species like clams, and fish due to ocean temperatures rising. The article also addressed carbon dating of fossils to look for cause of extinctions. Human development and agriculture have had a tremendous impact on the population of many species that are terrestrial. Deforestation is a big problem that has caused a decline in the bird species. Commercial fishing in many areas has led to a decline in fish populations. Furthermore this article

Researchers are currently trying to gain knowledge on the extent of the problem; how the parasite works, what species can be infected, and once infected, what species experience the least amount of symptoms. They believe that by infecting native tree frogs with this parasite, they may be able to increase the amount of parasites while decreasing the amount of toads. L.Pizzatto and R. Shine (2011) had three assumptions. “(1) The parasite has no detrimental effect on the frogs; (2) the frogs are capable of maintaining a lungworm infection long term; and (3) infective larvae passed in the frog’s faeces are capable of infecting toads and reducing their viability.” (p.546)

The Northern Correboree Frog is an endangered species that is restricted to montane, subalpine woodlands, grassland and heathland 1,000 metres above sea level. The estimated amount of Northern Correboree Frogs is 1000-5000. One of the reasons why the Northern Correboree Frog is endangered is because of climate change. Climate change affects the Northern Correboree Frog because it was predicted that its population would decrease in winter and spring precipitation because, this would make one of the popular breeding habitats (edges of bog pools) very saturated and dry, which makes it hard for the frogs to breed.

Some recommendations that we have to help the Foothill Yellow-Legged Frogs incorporates the government. The government is able to help by putting these amphibians on the endangered list and providing laws to protect them. Putting restrictions on areas where these frogs live to protect their population can help these frogs grow, and those who disturb their population should be fined. Another way these frogs can be helped is to promote volunteering for nonprofit organizations such as Tule Ponds. By promoting volunteering, habitats can be restored by acts such as clearing out invasive species, like we did during our service project. Lastly, regulating trade can significantly help while protecting these frogs. This prevents invasive species from taking over the native ones and will allow habitats to grow peacefully. By reducing the number of invasive plants in the area, this can protect the habitats of these frogs as well as other

The article explains that several measures were proposed to reduce the cane toad population, and provides three reasons of support. However, the professor explains that it would not be easy to get rid off the cane toad population and several measures taken, but that were unsuccessful, and refutes each of the author’s reasons.

The mountain yellow-legged frog is declining due to the introduction of trout, contaminants, increased levels of ultraviolet radiation, and the fungal disease, chytridiomycosis. David Bradford, one of the first witnesses to the decline in the late seventies, noticed the species dropping because of the red-leg disease. Because this is a secondary infection, the frog’s immune system was weakened before the disease became existent. The chytrid fungus was first cited in the Sierra Nevada in 2001, brought here from African clawed frogs, but studies have suggested that the disease has been evident since the mid-‘70s. Nearly three decades later, the mountain yellow-legged frog is still declining. Currently, with a ninety-eight percent decline, there

Many sources say that the initial spread of this invasive species began at the end of the 1800's when bullfrogs were shipped to California to fill hungry loggers appetite for frog legs. The frogs competed with the other native species with the supply of natural resources while also consuming and exploiting the native amphibian species as well. Worldwide Rana catesbeiana has driven over one-hundred native species of frogs to extinction (Save The Frogs! et al. 2013). This is a huge impact on amphibian wildlife worldwide because there are about 4,800 species of frogs. Over the past hundred years the bullfrog has wiped out over 2% of the world's species of frogs. Studies have shown one of the reasons bullfrogs will cripple Arizonian ecosystems and the native amphibian species directly is because a female bullfrog’s physiology

The issue I will be raising is one that might not be familiar to all who reside in California and that is primarily focused around the fragmentation and overall mutilation of areas that keep and protect the species Rana Draytonii, otherwise known as the California Red-legged Frog. One of the reasons I raise this issue, is because most importantly “these frogs were named the official state amphibian of California via AB 2364” (Patrick McGreevy.). An even greater reason to discuss this dilemma is because they are limited in their size around the Southernmost California residences, whereas they had previously occupied approximately “70% of its former habitat” according to environmentalists (Campbell.). My goal is to highlight their ecological value to the state and how the California red-legged frog’s value is more significant than the fragmentation and intrusion taking place. These red-legged frogs are currently listed as endangered, but they are vulnerable to human intrusion by means of erecting buildings, projects for road construction, introduction of a non-native species along with habitat fragmentation in areas near where they might usually reside such as near the south Mendocino County and along southern California with populations extending to the Santa Rosa Plateau (Hammerson, Geoffrey). The California red-legged frog has an intrinsic link to

In the beginning of the book “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert, she mentions a species of a frog that is going extinct because of a fungus that has been brought over by humans and has been spread around by water. It is attention-grabbing for the majority of people to find out what is happening to these frogs and for people who share an interest with frogs it is concerning. Either its interesting or concerning it is important to know how these fogs are dying if humans seem to not be bringing harm to them on purpose, most would assume the fungus occurred naturally. However, in the book Kolbert mentions “Without being loaded by someone onto a boat or a plane, it would have been impossible for a frog carrying Bd to get from Africa to Australia or from North America to Europe” (Kolbert 18). Since Humans have altered the way we live and it is constantly changing it was only a matter

The Sixth Extinction is a chapter found in a book titled, “The Sixth Extinction An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert”. This chapter addresses extinction or the termination of a group. The story takes place in The Panamanian town of El Valle de Anton. The story focuses on the toxic species called the golden frog. For some unknown reason(s), the golden frogs began to disappear.

“Like the rest of us, scientists gravitate toward the huggable” (Begley 257) says, Sharon Begley as she refers to animals in her article “Praise the Humble Dung Beetle.” Begley, an accomplished and award-winning science journalist, informs people on the threat of the plants and animals that are going extinct. In this article published in Newsweek, she persuades her audience that this threat of extinction is harming the environment and humankind and that it can be detrimental in many ways. In “Praise the Humble Dung Beetle,” Begley’s use of rhetorical appeals, her organization and syntax, as well as her tone, help inform her audience about the importance of insects in our ecosystem.

Frogs, toads, caecilians, and salamanders are the members of the class Amphibian (amphi- meaning “on both sides” and bios- meaning “life”). These members always require water for reproduction. Most Amphibians undergo metamorphosis, which is a usually degenerative pathological change in the structure of a particular body tissue. And, in the case of Amphibians, it is the changing of a tadpole into