Dr. Simon Stuart : 3. Why Is the Amphibian Population Declining?

3. Why Is the Amphibian Population Declining?

Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA)

In 2001, Dr. Stuart started to work in the offices of Conservation International in Washington, D.C. (U.S.) while continuing to be employed by the IUCN. He launched the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA), a large-scale project for the conservation of amphibians.
Dr. Stuart chose amphibians because he loves frogs and other amphibians, and also because he knew that amphibians had been declining in many places of the world for reasons unknown. To understand why, Dr. Stuart and his team conducted a large survey. They worked with 550 amphibian experts from across the world and studied all 5,743 amphibian species that were known at that time.

The Risk to Amphibians Is the Risk to the Global Environment

They found out that about one-third of amphibian species around the world were threatened. There were three major causes : (1) habitat loss, (2) disease, specifically a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, and (3) overharvesting. Chytridiomycosis in frogs is caused by the parasite, chytrid, on their skin, and there is no cure for it in the wild. Once frogs develop the disease, they weaken or even die if the condition worsens. It is an extremely frightening disease.
All these problems were caused by humans. It is believed that chytridiomycosis is of Asian origin and spread throughout the world due to the global movement of goods and pets, suggesting the involvement of humans in the spread of the disease.

Most amphibians live on land and in water, which makes them more vulnerable to the deterioration of the environment because they face threats from both sides. The GAA clarified that amphibians were threatened, which highlighted the deterioration of the global environment, the threat to biodiversity and the need for conservation activity.

A book introducing threatened amphibians

4. Wildlife Conservation from Now on