Frogs live almost everywhere—from tropical forests to frozen tundra and scorching deserts. They sport an amazing range of survival strategies. Many frogs are more colorful than the most dazzling birds, and their voices have filled the night with song since the dawn of the dinosaurs. But the chorus is fading. As humans change natural environments, frogs around the world are disappearing.
Thus far, up to 200 species have completely disappeared since 1980, this is NOT normal.
Amphibian populations are faced with an onslaught of environmental problems, including pollution, infectious diseases, habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and over-harvesting for the pet and food trades.
They are considered to be indicator species for environmental health:
they have delicate skin that readily absorbs toxins from their environment; they have few defenses and can fall prey to non-native predators; they rely on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats (video) at various times during their life cycle.
Did you know that frogs produce a wide array of skin secretions, many of which have significant potential to improve human health through their use as pharmaceuticals.
Approximately 10% of Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine have resulted from investigations that used frogs.
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Introduction
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Why are Amphibians Disappearing?
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Frogs' Life-Saving Medical Benefits to Humans
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10 Ways Man is Destroying the Ecosystem
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Veto Human-Frog Consumption to Preserve the Ecosytem and Humanity
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Even in the most developed countries, there are virtually no protocols in place to ensure that diseased amphibians do not get imported or exported. American Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) are commonly farmed and transported worldwide. They are known carriers of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and thus are likely to be primary contributors to the global spread of chytridiomycosis, a disease that has decimated amphibian populations worldwide. In a recent study, 62% of the captive-raised bullfrogs sampled in shops in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco were infected with the chytrid fungus. These three cities alone have been importing over five million amphibians per year.