WHAT’S KILLING OUR FROGS, SALAMANDERS AND OTHER AMPHIBIANS?
It is not easy to kill a frog. Amphibians as a
group have existed on earth for 350 million
years, so the phenomenon that’s killing them
must be something that has happened fairly
recently.
For now, scientists have no answer but they do have several clues.
One big part of the mystery is that many of the deadly population losses
are happening in pristine areas like national parks, far removed from the
pollution of the cities.
The first recorded mass extinction of amphibians, is the golden toad
that disappeared from the rain forests of Costa Rica.
Why? Sam Droegge, another government expert, says: “There’s no
polluter up the stream, or a chemical plant or a part of the habitat that’s
been removed. Several possible causes are now being kicked around, and
many of the experts believe that different factors are responsible for the
deaths, depending on location.
The first potential culprit is ultraviolet rays coming through the
damaged ozone layer. Scientist believe the UV rays are damaging frog
eggs and juvenile frogs. In fact, one of the reasons amphibians may be
more vulnerable to environment effects is that they pass through one or
more metamorphoses on their way to adulthood.
But it is also true that ultraviolet has been ruled out in some places
where frog extinctions have occurred.
So scientists are looking at air pollution, water quality, and fertilizer
and pesticide run-off as potential causes. At one government test facility in
Mary land, scientists spray different types of pesticides on a frog-filled pond
to see if there’s an effect. In some cases the animals are born with
deformities. We are racing against time if we want to save the amphibian
class. There is so much man doesn’t know, and the animals keep dying.
Secretary Bruce Babbit has decided to make amphibians a top priority
issue. He believes the government can help, not by spending a huge sum
on research, but by coordinating the work that scientists are already doing
in the field. Basically, the way amphibians work is: they’re little sponges.
They soak up water, and they soak up the air directly through the skin
rather than through lungs. They have lungs, but they’re not as important to
them as ours are to us.
So, they’re pulling in the parts of the environment, then they’re dying.
They’re diseased, and malformations are occurring, and they’re disappearing
out of the planet. At the same time, we drink that water and we breathe
that same air. And we have to begin to wonder whether the problem the
amphibians are having now doesn’t transcend to other species… including
the human race. We have to start to worry if this is something that could
raise a human health concern. “They have been here longer than we have,”
They have survived for 350 million years, and now they are being extinct.
It is not easy to kill a frog. Amphibians as a
group have existed on earth for 350 million
years, so the phenomenon that’s killing them
must be something that has happened fairly
recently.
For now, scientists have no answer but they do have several clues.
One big part of the mystery is that many of the deadly population losses
are happening in pristine areas like national parks, far removed from the
pollution of the cities.
The first recorded mass extinction of amphibians, is the golden toad
that disappeared from the rain forests of Costa Rica.
Why? Sam Droegge, another government expert, says: “There’s no
polluter up the stream, or a chemical plant or a part of the habitat that’s
been removed. Several possible causes are now being kicked around, and
many of the experts believe that different factors are responsible for the
deaths, depending on location.
The first potential culprit is ultraviolet rays coming through the
damaged ozone layer. Scientist believe the UV rays are damaging frog
eggs and juvenile frogs. In fact, one of the reasons amphibians may be
more vulnerable to environment effects is that they pass through one or
more metamorphoses on their way to adulthood.
But it is also true that ultraviolet has been ruled out in some places
where frog extinctions have occurred.
So scientists are looking at air pollution, water quality, and fertilizer
and pesticide run-off as potential causes. At one government test facility in
Mary land, scientists spray different types of pesticides on a frog-filled pond
to see if there’s an effect. In some cases the animals are born with
deformities. We are racing against time if we want to save the amphibian
class. There is so much man doesn’t know, and the animals keep dying.
Secretary Bruce Babbit has decided to make amphibians a top priority
issue. He believes the government can help, not by spending a huge sum
on research, but by coordinating the work that scientists are already doing
in the field. Basically, the way amphibians work is: they’re little sponges.
They soak up water, and they soak up the air directly through the skin
rather than through lungs. They have lungs, but they’re not as important to
them as ours are to us.
So, they’re pulling in the parts of the environment, then they’re dying.
They’re diseased, and malformations are occurring, and they’re disappearing
out of the planet. At the same time, we drink that water and we breathe
that same air. And we have to begin to wonder whether the problem the
amphibians are having now doesn’t transcend to other species… including
the human race. We have to start to worry if this is something that could
raise a human health concern. “They have been here longer than we have,”
They have survived for 350 million years, and now they are being extinct.
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