Two out of five amphibians are facing extinction threat due to climate change: study

Source: The post is based on the article “Two out of five amphibians are facing extinction threat due to climate change: study” published in “The Hindu” on 7th October 2023

What is the News?

A study titled ‘Ongoing declines for the world’s amphibians in the face of emerging threats’ was published in the scientific journal Nature.

Who conducted this study on the world’s amphibians?

The study was conducted by the Amphibian Red List Authority, a branch of the Amphibian Specialist Group of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission and managed by Re:wild, a wildlife conservation group.

It evaluated the extinction risk of more than 8,000 amphibian species from all over the world, including 2,286 species evaluated for the first time. 

What are the key findings of the study on the world’s amphibians?

Amphibian Extinction Threat: Two out of every five amphibian species are at risk of extinction.This alarming data will be added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The highest concentration of threatened amphibian species were mapped to be located in India’s Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Caribbean islands, tropical Andes, Mesoamerica and the mountains and forests of western Cameroon and eastern Nigeria.

Impact of Climate Change: Between 2004 and 2022, more than 300 amphibian species have moved closer to extinction.Climate change was the primary threat for 39% of these species.

– Note: Climate change was the primary threat for only 1% of amphibian species whose conservation status in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species worsened between 1980 and 2004. But since then, it has emerged as the primary threat for 39 per cent species.

Other Threats: Habitat destruction and degradation affect a staggering 93% of all threatened amphibian species.

– Hence, expanding habitat protection and creating corridors in vital biodiversity areas are crucial for their conservation.