A new global assessment has found that 41% of amphibian species that scientists have studied are threatened with extinction, meaning they are either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.
“Amphibians are the world's most threatened animals,” said Duke University's Junjie Yao, a frog researcher who was not involved in the study.
But a growing percentage of amphibian species are now also pushed to the brink by novel diseases and climate change, the study found.
The study identified the greatest concentrations of threatened amphibian species in several biodiversity hotspots, including the Caribbean islands, the tropical Andes, Madagascar and Sri Lanka.
Other locations with large numbers of threatened amphibians include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, southern China and the southeastern United States.
Persons:
”, Duke University's Junjie Yao, Michael Ryan, Patricia Burrowes, Juan Manuel Guayasamin, Guayasamin
Organizations:
University of Texas, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Northern, University San Francisco, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP
Locations:
Madrid, Quito, Ecuador, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Forest, China, United States