More than a third of the world's amphibians are facing the threat of extinction, and climate change has emerged as a key new factor. That's according to a Ventura County researcher who is co-author of a new scientific paper on the crisis.
"In this study, we examined the status of more than 8,000 species of amphibians distributed all across the globe," said Dr. Rudi von May, who is an Assistant Biology Professor at Cal State Channel Islands.
"Our main finding is that climate change is a major driver of amphibian decline," said von May. "That means it's threatening a large number of species. And, that's in addition to previous findings that habitat loss, and disease are drivers of decline."
The researcher says amphibians like frogs, toads, salamanders and newts play an important role in ecosystems.
"Amphibians are a very important component of the food chain," said von May. "They are predators on one hand, and are food for others animals."
The study involved more than a thousand researchers around the world, sharing two decades worth of data. Does he think there’s time to save the threatened amphibians around the world?
"The encouraging thing is that there is still time to save a majority of the species," said the CSUCI researcher. "Some good news is that the number of protected areas, and preserves on the plant is increasing."
He also said that there are increases in corridors which allow amphibians to move from one habitat to another, to give them a better chance of moving, and surviving.
He thinks protecting more habitats is keys to helping amphibians.
von May is originally from Peru. His amphibian research took him to one of the most remote areas of the world, the jungles of the Amazon. He said it was amazing to see some of the rarest amphibians on the planet. The researcher is planning a 2025 expedition to the Andes to study a rare frog.
The Cal State Channel Islands researcher said the study about the crisis facing amphibians should serve as a wakeup call, and that we need to do more to help save them.
Von May was the only scientist in California to take part in the report. It was the cover story in October for the scientific journal Nature.
