May 12, 2019
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Over 1,000 MORE amphibian species could be at risk of extinction compared to earlier estimates
The world’s amphibians may be in even graver danger than we’ve thought, a new report warns. A new analysis of the risks faced by the 8,000 or so known amphibian species has found that up to 50 per cent may be at risk of extinction, in a dramatic rise from earlier estimates.
The spike stems from the inclusion of roughly 2,200 species that were previously under-represented due to lack of data; now, based on the new models, researchers say at least another 1,000 species are facing the threat of extinction. The study comes on the heels of a worrying UN report that found plant and animal species today are being wiped out at unprecedented rates.
In the new study published to the journal Current Biology, researchers used a technique dubbed trait-based spatio-phylogenetic statistical framework to assess the extinction risks of data-deficient species. This combined data on their ecology, geography, and evolutionary attributes with the associated extinction risks of each factor to make a prediction. Only about 44 per cent of amphibians currently have up-to-date risk assessments, the team notes.
Pamela González-del-Pliego of the University of Sheffield and Yale University said: ‘We found that more than 1,000 data-deficient amphibians are threatened with extinction, and nearly 500 are Endangered or Critically Endangered, mainly in South America and Southeast Asia. Urgent conservation actions are needed to avert the loss of these species.’
According to the researchers, the species most at risk likely also include those we know the least about, further adding to the complexity of their protection.
While some of these species may be helped by conservations already targeting others in the same region, this strategy won’t work for all. Amphibians living in Southeast Asia and Central Africa, for example, don’t share this overlap.
González-del-Pliego said: ‘In the Neotropics, the species that we know are threatened have very similar geographical distributions compared to the data-deficient species predicted to be threatened. Therefore, if we try and conserve the areas where current threatened species are, we will be protecting the data-deficient species as well. We need to move quickly to consider amphibians as a high conservation priority and integrate data-deficient species into conservation strategies.’
Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk
