Frogs and Toads face extinction

by LotusFlower | September 25, 2008 at 10:00 pm

1480 views | 21 Recommendations | 15 comments

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Europes toads and frogs face extinction by 2050

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uploaded by LotusFlower

With one in three of all the world's amphibians on the endangered species list a new report predicts that over half of European toads, frogs and newts could be extinct in 50 years time. Climate change is predicted to destroy the habitats of these creatures particularly in the Mediterranean area.

old pond
a frog leaps into
the sound of water

Basho

More than half of all frogs, toads and newts living in Europe could be driven to extinction within 40 years as climate change, diseases and habitat destruction take their toll, scientists warned last night.

The majority of the most threatened species live in Mediterranean regions, which are expected to become warmer and drier. Island species, such as the Mallorcan midwife toad and Sardinian brook newt, are especially at risk because they are unable to move to cooler climates.

In Britain, where viruses are already wiping out many hundreds of amphibians a year, conservationists fear for the future of the common toad, natterjack toad and crested newt.

Researchers described the bleak outlook for Europe's amphibians at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London last night. Sir David Attenborough, who was due to attend the symposium, said: "Amphibians are the lifeblood of many environments, playing key roles in the function of ecosystems, and it is both extraordinary and terrifying that in just a few decades the world could lose half of all these species."

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Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 22:05 on September 25th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

That would be one of the worth ecological disasters in Earth History.

Amitjha

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:27 on September 25th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

LotusFlower

at 23:36 on September 25th, 2008

thanks Amitjha - the sad thing is that many people don't seem to 'love' toads and frogs for some reason - this could be the biggest wipeout since the dinosaurs.

Rhonda J Mangus

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:28 on September 26th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Arboreal Boids

at 11:57 on September 26th, 2008

LotusFlower,
Nice story & I like the way you've gathered photos compared to others on Now Public who just hoard photos that may hardly be even relevant to the story (ex. Article on frogs being endangered with pictures of toys, sculptures, doodles, etc). Though, you should try for photos of European amphibians to be more like a true article.

Arboreal Boids has contributed a photo to this story.

allie taylor

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:00 on September 26th, 2008

Nice :]

allie taylor

at 12:00 on September 26th, 2008

Would be a terrible thing to happen.

baja_dad

at 13:28 on September 26th, 2008

Common toad found in Arizona

baja_dad has contributed a photo to this story.

drugfreedave

at 15:09 on September 26th, 2008

Some of the most beautiful creatures on earth, It would be a tragedy to lose any of them!

drugfreedave has contributed a photo to this story.

gaya76

at 12:09 on September 27th, 2008

Nice article, I just wanted to add the correct info to my photo:

Triturus carnifex carnifex Trieste (Italy)

Thanks for asking me, it has been a pleasure contributing

gaya76 has contributed a photo to this story.

David dO

at 09:26 on September 28th, 2008

Tomato frog (Dyscophus antongilii), endemic to Madagascar.
Observed in Exotic Reserve Peyrieras in the Madagascar highlands east of the capital Antananarivo.

David dO has contributed a photo to this story.

pankaj kumar

at 10:52 on September 28th, 2008

global warming,changing environmrnt.altration of genepool are responsible for the extinction we should have to do something to take care of our inviornment.

mavnjess

at 20:35 on September 29th, 2008

I noticed this little guy on my window ledge one night & grabbed my camera. He sat there & posed happily all night while I circled around him experimenting with flash, no flash, long lens, macro etc. He'd come up from the lake behind our house.

mavnjess has contributed a photo to this story.

bemused26

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:01 on September 30th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

It would be awful if we lost these creatures- they are awsome. How can people not like them, there are so many types and they are beautiful all of them. Even the ugly ones!

comoms

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:46 on October 8th, 2008

LotusFlower, I like this story. It's good stuff.

As I see more and more stories about species, including bees, close to extinction.

For animals such as tigers and Elephants, we can go after hunters etc., but for small animals like frogs, that are dying from climate change, I wonder what we can do?