Global Warming - Tropical Frogs Vanishing - Green Gazette

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The researchers used satellite imaging to check for deforestation and concluded with “very high confidence” that global warming — not the destruction of habitat — has led to the simultaneous demise of harlequin frogs in diverse habitats. Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, one of the study’s authors, says there is “absolutely a linkage between global warming and this disease — they go hand-in-hand.”

Because amphibians have moist, permeable skin, they are highly sensitive to environmental change — even to minor shifts in temperature, humidity or water quality — and thus are unique indicators of ongoing climate disruption. The deadly chytrid fungus attacks the lunglike skin of these frogs and kills them.

Sanchez-Azofeifa is worried that too much of the climate change discussion concerns industrialized areas. Meanwhile, extremely sensitive ecosystems — such as tropical forests — receive little attention.

Shifting temperatures and weather patterns — caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities — endanger plants and animals worldwide. According to Pounds’ team, “Climate-driven epidemics are an immediate threat to biodiversity ... the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas concentrations is now undeniable.”

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