Amphibians face a bleak future
Emma Marris

Worldwide survey reveals a third of all species are in danger.

The world's frogs, newts and toads are dying. They are being over-harvested
for food, their homes are being destroyed, and most worryingly, entire
species are disappearing for no apparent reason.

That is the conclusion of more than 500 herpetologists around the world,
reported in Science1 today. Although it has been known for some time that
many amphibian species are in trouble, this is the first global assessment
of the group's status.

Similar surveys of mammals and birds have been completed, and they were not
short of bad news. But this comprehensive survey is the bleakest yet.
Consulting local experts in a series of regional workshops, Simon Stuart and
his team at Conservation International and the World Conservation Union
(IUCN) examined the status of all 5,743 known species. They found that 1,856
of them - more than 30% - qualify as vulnerable, endangered or critically
endangered under IUCN Red List Criteria.

"To say we are going to lose almost half of a whole taxonomic group in 100
years - that's millions of years worth of extinction that we're basically
responsible for," says Janice Chanson, a co-author of the study.

Full Text at Nature
http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041011/full/041011-12.html

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