"Study: Amphibians Disappearing at 'Stunning' Rate"

[Tafiti]

Sorry if this is a repeat, but here's some great news!!! (sarcasm)

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Almost 150 species of amphibians have apparently gone extinct and at least one-third of the rest are facing imminent threats that could soon wipe them out, according to a worldwide assessment by scientists published Thursday.

The severity of the global threat to thousands of species of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians makes them perhaps the most endangered class of animals on Earth, with their rapid decline outpacing that of mammals and birds.

David B. Wake of the University of California-Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, one of the world's leading amphibian experts, called the prospects for their survival "very grim."

"These are simply stunning results," Wake said of the report, published in the online version of the jounral Science. "Nearly one-third of all the species are in the three top categories of endangerment."

For two decades, scientists have been trying to figure out why amphibian populations worldwide are vanishing. Studies have documented an array of threats, varying from place to place, including infectious disease, destruction of freshwater and rainforest habitats, introduction of non-native predators such as trout, pesticides, parasites, global climate change and the thinning ozone layer.

The findings of more than 500 scientists were included in the first-ever global amphibian assessment, a three-year effort by researchers with IUCN-The World Conservation Union, the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science of Conservation International and NatureServe.

Scientists say amphibians serve as sentinels for environmental problems that might be jeopardizing entire ecosystems. They spend much of their lives in water and breathe through permeable skin, which leaves them vulnerable to pesticides, change in climate, and water quality.

From Los Angeles Times

[kokomo]

1. Monarch butterflies disappearing too. Canary gagging in the coal mine

http://www.oaoa.com/news/nw101404e.htm

[salinen]

2. Catastrophic decline

is to be expected in a over intensified global destruction of the planet.

[Lorien]

3. Canarys in the coal mine

A much bigger danger to our lives than terrorism is the collapse of the planets ecosystems. It's happening at a horrific rate, yet this is not a politically popular issue (RWers have succeeded in making it a NON issue, in fact).

If you want to DO something to save endangered species and their habitats, join the World Wildlife Fund. It's one of the world's top rated charities: www.worldwildlifefund.org. We must also demand that politicians address these issues; the longer they wait, the less time humanity has.

[jilln]

5. nonononooo....

The WWF has been known to advocate killing some species in favor of others... there are more responsible wildlife organizations, such as The Fund for Animals (fund.org), the Humane Society (hsus.org).

The WWF is fine with the Canadian seal hunt, which is generally recognized as one of the most sickening atrocities committed against animals in the world.

They also subsidize hunt clubs.

They have no real concern for animals, only as they are profitable to humans. The WWF is one of those fake environmental organizations like Ducks Unlimited, whose goals are to save habitat so their members can kill the inhabitants.

See here:

http://www.harpseals.org/hunters/wwf.html
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/99/6/sea_shepherds.html

[Lorien]

7. Bullshit

I would call habitat loss, the thinning ozone layer, and pollution that is creating "dead zones" in our oceans " the most sickening atrocities committed against animals in the world." Not only the seals will die, but every other mammal, bird, fish and amphibian will as well.

From their site:
Known worldwide by its panda logo, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Now in its fifth decade, WWF works in more than 100 countries around the globe to conserve the diversity of life on earth. With nearly 1.2 million members in the U.S. and another 4 million worldwide, WWF is the world's largest privately financed conservation organization.

WWF directs its conservation efforts toward three global goals: saving endangered species, protecting endangered habitats and addressing global threats such as toxic pollution, over-fishing and climate change. From working to save the giant panda and bringing back the Asian rhino to establishing and helping to manage parks and reserves worldwide, WWF has been a conservation leader for more than 40 years.

WWF's "Green Building"
WWF's U.S. headquarters was designed and built to conserve resources, limit waste and pollution, protect the environment, and make wise use of donated funds.
Learn more in our "green building" brochure. (PDF format, 3.9M)
WWF Mission Statement
WWF's mission is the conservation of nature. Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, we work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems by

* protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species;
* promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and
* promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution.

We are committed to reversing the degradation of our planet's natural environment and to building a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature. We recognize the critical relevance of human numbers, poverty, and consumption patterns to meeting these goals.

Yes, there are other very worthy environmental organizations. WWF has one of the highest ratings because more of each dollar goes into their programs, and their programs are proven to be successful. Yes, "Ducks unlimited" is commited to saving areas for Duck hunters (and I too am anti-hunting), but in the ultimate goal of saving life on earth, they are an organization that we need right now. They've joined with the Sierra club to oppose Bush's policies that are disasterous for all living things. The situation is so grave that we MUST reach out to every group-especially those with political might-to save what's left. The sad fact is that idealogical purity doesn't work for the greater good anymore; it doesn't work in American politics, and it doesn't work for saving the planet either.

[Artemis Bunyon]

9. I'm with you.

The seal hunt is no more brutal or sickening than any other hunt. Dead is dead. And I've spent time in a slaughterhouse, so shrieking, media-generating cries of "SKINNED ALIVE!!!" don't mean that much to me. There are more important things than cuteness.

[Lorien]

10. Oh, I do think that seal hunts and slaughterhouses are

brutal. "A society can be measured by the way it treats it's animals"; I believe Gandhi said that, and I agree. I simply see this as having gone beyond brutality; the entire Harp seal population will suffer and die of starvation if climate change isen't addressed seriously. The oceans "dead zones" are spreading quickly; any organization that can raise awareness needs to be enlisted and involved in this issue NOW.

[proud patriot]

4. Very Scary

:scared: frogs etc. get eaten by birds and mammals
and we eat birds and mammals.

[jilln]

6. we don't all eat birds and mammals.

[Eloriel]

8. Link, please?

I'd like to send this to my son, who is something of a naturalist.