Research Confirms Continued, Unabated and Large-Scale Amphibian Declines

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS):

Research Confirms Continued, Unabated and Large-Scale Amphibian Declines -- Local Action Key to Reversing Losses: New USGS and Penn State University research (http://on.doi.gov/22lKYU0) suggests that even though amphibians are severely declining worldwide, there is no smoking gun – and thus no simple solution – to halting or reversing these declines. The research confirms evidence that the average decline in overall amphibian populations is 3.79 percent per year, with the decline rate more severe in some regions, such as the West Coast and the Rocky Mountains. If this rate remains unchanged, these species would disappear from half of the habitats they occupy in about 20 years. Implementing conservation plans locally will be key in stopping amphibian population losses. Though every region in the United States suffered declines, threats differed among them:

*Human influence from the Mississippi River east, including the metropolitan areas of the Northeast and the agricultural-dominated landscapes of the Midwest
*Disease, particularly a chytrid fungus in the Upper Midwest and New England
*Pesticide applications east of the Colorado River
*Climate changes across the Southern U.S. and the West Coast

#amphibiandeclines U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceNational Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior #ARMI

Photo: American bullfrogs at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia. Photo courtesy of Alan Cressler, USGS