The Plague Killing Frogs Everywhere Is Far Worse Than Scientists Thought

[Calista241]

Source: New York Times

On Thursday, 41 scientists published the first worldwide analysis of a fungal outbreak that’s been wiping out frogs for decades. The devastation turns out to be far worse than anyone had previously realized.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers conclude that populations of more than 500 species of amphibians have declined significantly because of the outbreak — including at least 90 species presumed to have gone extinct. The figure is more than twice as large as earlier estimates.

...

Scientists first noticed in the 1970s that some frog populations were declining quickly; by the 1980s, some species appeared to be extinct. The losses were puzzling, because the frogs were living in pristine habitats, unharmed by pollution or deforestation.

In the late 1990s, researchers discovered that frogs in both Australia and Panama were infected with a deadly fungus, which they named Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis — Bd, for short.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/science/frogs-fungus-bd.html

[lagomorph777]

1. How did we cause it? International trade in animals.

And it seems we've been able to slow this down with regulations.

That's a bit scary because we have an anti-regulation party in control in the (former) moral leader in international governance.

[democratisphere]

2. Mass extinction continues with no solutions to the problems.

[Nitram]

3. Most mass extinction is caused by habitat degradation and destruction by humans. This article

reports that frog populations declined even in "pristine habitats unharmed by pollution or deforestation." It also concludes that deforestation and climate change are not factors. Frog population loss peaked in the 1980s and seems to be declining.

[democratisphere]

5. Pathogens are and will continue to be the concern about the

extinction of frogs and other species.

[ToxMarz]

4. Was kind of hoping it was this kind of frog

[ck4829]

6. K&R