Post by KNOWTHIS on Jan 19, 2008 1:43:47 GMT -5
We’ve heard about the bees, birds and fish dying. Now many species of amphibians are disappearing at an unprecedented pace. Scientists have estimated that about 165 species have already become extinct. The dying off of one salamander in particular has been linked to a certain type of pesticide use. This same exact kind of pesticide has also been found in our drinking water and at levels that exceed the amount allowable by the EPA. While there isn’t one specific cause pinpointed for every incidence there are a number of different contributing factors cited (some of which are probably directly linked). Deforestation (habitat destruction), disease, bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungus, pollution, ozone depletion etc.
www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1378&category=Environment
www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1378&category=Environment
“This recent and massive decline in amphibian populations,
that have been on Earth for millions of years, is one of the greatest extinction
events in history.” - Andrew Blaustein, Ph.D., Oregon State University
that have been on Earth for millions of years, is one of the greatest extinction
events in history.” - Andrew Blaustein, Ph.D., Oregon State University
ENDANGERED AND EXTINCTION THREATS ARE AROUND THE WORLD IN BOTH HEMISPHERES?
Yes, it’s worldwide.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS IN THIS 21ST CENTURY IF WE KEEP SEEING EXTINCTIONS IN FROGS, TOADS AND SALAMANDERS?
Frogs, toads and salamanders are very important components in most ecosystems. In some ecosystems, they are the major proportion of vertebrates and they eat lots of things. They eat lots of insects, they eat mosquitoes, flies, the insects that cause diseases to humans. If you took away all the frogs and toads tomorrow, I would expect to see huge numbers of flies and mosquitoes and insect pests. And a lot of animals eat amphibians! Fishes eat them, snakes eat them, birds eat them; other amphibians eat them. Reptiles eat them and mammals eat them. Therefore, a staple food source for a lot of these animals would be disappearing (in accelerating extinctions) and those animal populations (who feed off amphibians) might be affected. Even insects eat amphibians. They eat the tadpoles, the young ones. So it would be a major impact if we lost all the amphibians.
WHAT WOULD BE THE WORST CASE?
If we lose amphibians, not only are we losing an important component of ecosystems from a predator/prey point of view – what eats them and what they eat – but we’re also losing potential sources for pharmaceutical products because we’ve actually found in recent years that these things carry peptides on their skins that can be used as medicines for people. For example, recently they have discovered peptides on the skin of some frog species in the tropics that can actually slow the growth of the HIV/AIDS virus – and peptides that can destroy herpes simplex. And these are just two examples.
Yes, it’s worldwide.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS IN THIS 21ST CENTURY IF WE KEEP SEEING EXTINCTIONS IN FROGS, TOADS AND SALAMANDERS?
Frogs, toads and salamanders are very important components in most ecosystems. In some ecosystems, they are the major proportion of vertebrates and they eat lots of things. They eat lots of insects, they eat mosquitoes, flies, the insects that cause diseases to humans. If you took away all the frogs and toads tomorrow, I would expect to see huge numbers of flies and mosquitoes and insect pests. And a lot of animals eat amphibians! Fishes eat them, snakes eat them, birds eat them; other amphibians eat them. Reptiles eat them and mammals eat them. Therefore, a staple food source for a lot of these animals would be disappearing (in accelerating extinctions) and those animal populations (who feed off amphibians) might be affected. Even insects eat amphibians. They eat the tadpoles, the young ones. So it would be a major impact if we lost all the amphibians.
WHAT WOULD BE THE WORST CASE?
If we lose amphibians, not only are we losing an important component of ecosystems from a predator/prey point of view – what eats them and what they eat – but we’re also losing potential sources for pharmaceutical products because we’ve actually found in recent years that these things carry peptides on their skins that can be used as medicines for people. For example, recently they have discovered peptides on the skin of some frog species in the tropics that can actually slow the growth of the HIV/AIDS virus – and peptides that can destroy herpes simplex. And these are just two examples.
I think people should realize there is not just one reason for these extinctions – habitat destruction and alteration are the major causes. Diseases are a very important cause, but there is more than one disease. The chytrid fungus is just one. There are other fungi. There are parasitic worms. There are viruses and bacteria that all play a role. And obviously, pollution plays a role. There is ozone depletion with increasing ultraviolet radiation that plays a role. So, all these things acting together add up to a number of insults on the amphibian populations that keeps knocking them down, knocking them down. Amphibians persisted for millions of years. They were here before the dinosaurs and here after the dinosaurs, but now they are starting to hurt. They are starting to hurt because of all these insults, which are usually human-induced.
AND WHAT YOU MEAN IS THAT AFTER MULTIPLE MILLIONS OF YEARS OF SURVIVING ON THIS EARTH, IN ONLY A CENTURY OR TWO, HUMANITY WILL END UP DRIVING SO MUCH OF THE AMPHIBIAN AND OTHER POPULATIONS TO EXTINCTION.
That’s exactly what I mean. You got it right. I think they have been here for millions of years and we can knock them out in a couple of hundred."
AND WHAT YOU MEAN IS THAT AFTER MULTIPLE MILLIONS OF YEARS OF SURVIVING ON THIS EARTH, IN ONLY A CENTURY OR TWO, HUMANITY WILL END UP DRIVING SO MUCH OF THE AMPHIBIAN AND OTHER POPULATIONS TO EXTINCTION.
That’s exactly what I mean. You got it right. I think they have been here for millions of years and we can knock them out in a couple of hundred."
