Ongoing declines for the world's amphibians in the face of emerging threats
Luedtke, J.A., Chanson, J., Neam, K., Hobin, L. et al. 2023. Ongoing declines for the world's amphibians in the face of emerging threats. Nature 622(7982): 308–314 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06578-4.
The IUCN Red List Index documents the extinction risk trends of species groups over time, generating information crucial for conservation prioritisation and planning. The second Global Amphibian Assessment comprehensively assesses the extinction risk of amphibians for the first time since the 2004 baseline. This study 1) identifies species with the highest current extinction risk and those deteriorating towards extinction at the highest rate, 2) focuses conservation efforts onto the most pressing issues, and 3) evaluates the effectiveness of these efforts. It shows the number of threatened and extinct species is increasing, confirming amphibians as the most threatened vertebrate class. Extinction risk is highest in the Neotropical realm and in salamander families. While habitat loss affects the majority of threatened amphibians, disease is driving them to extinction faster, and climate change is emerging as a major driver of increases in extinction risk. The results also demonstrate that habitat protection is effective in reducing extinction risk but has been insufficient in scale. For species threatened by over-exploitation, climate change, or disease, additional measures are urgently needed. Avoiding further declines and halting amphibian extinctions require a substantial increase in investment and stronger political will for conservation goals.
To accompany this paper, a report on the State of the World's Amphibians has also been produced.
External Link