Vanishing Frogs Essay

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over-exploitation, there is one more cause of the rapid and increasing decline in the frogs’ population. That is the new emerging disease known as chytrid. This strange fungus, or amphibian fungus, is killing many frogs in their own environment. Chytrid is possibly the worst disease in history. “Chytrid has caused amphibian population declines in Australia, South America, North America, Central America, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa, and is likely responsible for over 100 species extinctions.”(“Chytrid Fungus”, Save the Frogs).

​An ecological consequence of the declining frog populations is that since the frogs are disappearing so quickly, species such as the Yosemite toad and mountain yellow-legged frog can’t be used in investigations and analyzations for scientists and ecologists. Another ecological consequence of the frog’s population decline is that amphibians have been a constant presence in our world’s ponds, lakes and rivers for a long time, so for them to decline rather quickly after surviving many years is alarming to the ecology.

​The declining of the frogs’ population is shocking to the ecologists and the factors causing them to decrease is thought as severe. Habitat destruction, global climate change, over exploitation and a new emerging disease called chytrid are few of the many causes of the vanishing frogs. Their declines are more widespread than ecologists thought, and their decline is getting greater. Not taking action to stop the decline in the frog population would result in many dangers to the national parks, their natural environments, and the ecologists’ studies. The frog population is just as important as anything else and there needs to be an end to the decline.