Photo from savethefrogs.com
Today is the first annual Save the Frogs Day, a holiday established by the scientific community to encourage the appreciation of amphibians, and to raise awareness of their plight. The conservationists got the ball rolling last year, when the Association of Zoos and Aquariums declared 2008 as Year of the Frog.
Why are frogs important?
- Frogs are an integral part of the food web
- Amphibians eat pest insects, which benefits agriculture and minimizes the spread of diseases, such as malaria
- Frogs are bioindicators, a “canary in a coal mine”, if you will. Their sensitive skin can easily absorb toxins, making them a good indicator for how healthy the environment around them is.
- Humans use frogs in medicinal research. Did you know that skin secretions from at least three species of Australian frogs can completely inhibit HIV? (Green Treefrog, Litoria caerulea, Southern Orange-eyed Treefrog, Litoria chloris, Green-Eyed Treefrog, Litoria genimaculata) Amphibians provide medicines that are used to treat depression, strokes, seizures, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
The diversity of frogs is incredible, as can be seen in the photos below.
Tomato Frog, photo from wikipedia.org
Long-nosed Horned Frog, photo from wikipedia.org
Waxy Monkey Leaf Frog, photo from wikipedia.org
Painted Burrowing Frog, photo from wikipedia.org
Ranita de Cristal, photo from National Geographic
Amazon Milk Frog, photo from wikipedia.org
Dyeing Poison Dart Frog, photo from viciousfroggies.tribe.net
Why do frogs need our attention?
Mantella madagascariensis. Photo © Taran Grant.
Frogs are the most threatened group of animals on the planet, and are rapidly going extinct. Nearly one-third of the world’s 6,450 amphibian species are in danger of extinction and up to 200 species have completely disappeared in the last 30 years.
The primary threats to frogs are habitat destruction, pollution, pesticides, climate change, invasive species, overharvesting for the pet and food trades, and infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis.
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Those are some hot herps pix.
If you’re interested in how saving frogs overlaps with fighting climate change, check out my post over on Grist: http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-28-happy-save-the-frogs-day/
Those frogs are adorable. Maybe I should get some to add to my pet collection. I always learn so much reading your blog. Your blog brings me into the world of science.