What animals are being threatened by climate change?

30-09-2008

Friday 26 September 2008
Extinction looms for Europe's amphibians
By Phil Bowles

More than 50% of Europe's amphibian species could be extinct by 2050, researchers from the Zoological Society of London warned yesterday, a consequence of the combined pressures of habitat loss, climate change and infectious disease.

Four years ago, results from the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) found that almost a third of living amphibians are threatened with extinction. At an event devoted to the amphibian decline crisis held at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), host Sir David Attenborough highlighted the key role amphibians play in ecosystems throughout the world, adding that "It is both extraordinary and terrifying that in just a few decades we could lose half of all these species."
Much of the media attention the amphibian crisis generated has focused on the plight of tropical frogs, such as the Panamanian golden frog featured in this year's Life in Cold Blood documentary. Now it appears that many of Europe's amphibians may share a similar fate.
ZSL Research Fellow Dr Trent Garner placed particular emphasis on the threat posed by climate change. Noting that climate change is likely to alter amphibian habitats, Dr Garner explained that experts expect "a large number of species to be faced with loss of habitat and, ultimately, extinction"
Although this climate-induced habitat loss is expected to be most severe in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, Dr Garner warned that amphibians in all parts of the continent would be affected. As a possible example, he pointed to the recent decline in common toads in the UK and stressed that "As climate change continues to impact habitats, the situation gets far worse for these native species."
Climate change is not the only pressing concern for European amphibians. Helen Meredith, amphibians coordinator for the Society's EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) conservation initiative, emphasised that "We need to reduce carbon emissions, but also address other pressing factors including habitat destruction and spread of disease".
Two diseases in particular, amphibian chytridiomycosis and ranaviruses, threaten European amphibians. The fungus which causes chytridiomycosis has been blamed for a number of catastrophic amphibian declines in the tropics. These include the golden frog, whose last surviving members were recently taken into captivity, and Costa Rica's golden toad, thought to be extinct and which a recent expedition to its former home, the Monteverde cloud forest, failed to locate. Ranaviruses, meanwhile, kill thousands of British amphibians annually.
There are signs that these pressures are already taking their toll on the continent's amphibians. In highland areas of Spain, declining common toad and fire salamander populations have been attributed to chytrid fungus. This disease has recently been discovered in the United Kingdom and this year ZSL scientists organised the first effort to monitor the spread of the fungus in Britain. What effect, if any, chytridiomycosis is having on native amphibians is unclear, but it is known to occur in areas close to populations of the nationally scarce natterjack toad.

ZSL Symposium: Halting the Global Decline in Amphibians: research and practice
On 20 and 21 November, the Zoological Society of London will be hosting a two-day symposium to bring together amphibian researchers and conservationists to discuss the amphibian decline crisis and its possible solutions. Contributors will include Sir David Attenborough and leading workers in the fields of amphibian research and conservation. For further information, to register, or to submit a poster presentation of your own related work, please visit the ZSL website. EDGE of Existence :: Evolutionarily Distinct & Globally Endangered

Lsten to Sir David Attenborough discuss the amphibian decline crisis with John Humphries on the Today programme (26 September)
BBC - Today

Our natural world 'badly bruised'
Sir David Attenborough explains why he thinks that half of Europe's frogs, toads and newts could be wiped out in the next 40 years - and says that manmade factors mean "our poor world" is suffering.

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30-09-2008

The disease problem is particularly interesting, where did it arise from..?

If only there was a pedantic, know it all zoo vet who could answer that question...

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02-10-2008

Killer fungus attacking amphibians

Genetic markers of a deadly fungus that is wiping out frog populations worldwide have been uncovered by scientists who will now use them to pinpoint where on the globe the killer microorganism originated....



The killer fungus is attacking amphibians around the world, including this harlequin toad from Costa Rica (Image: Robert Puschendorf/Science)


Genes shine light on mystery frog fungus
Dani Cooper
ABC Science Online

Genetic markers of a deadly fungus that is wiping out frog populations worldwide have been uncovered by scientists who will now use them to pinpoint where on the globe the killer microorganism originated.

Lead researcher Dr Jess Morgan, an Australian scientist from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries, says evidence has emerged that the frog-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis reproduces sexually and may be creating resistant spores, which can survive for a decade.

The international research findings, which are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests the pathogen will be harder to eliminate.

Morgan, who was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley at the time of the study, says little is known about the fungus.

She says it was only identified in 1998 after a wave of frog population extinctions worldwide from chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungus.

Scientists believe the fungus kills by attacking the frog's ability to absorb water through its skin, causing it to dehydrate to death. But they still don't know exactly how the pathogen has spread around the globe.

In the paper, Morgan says the team used genetic analysis of a well-studied population of mountain yellow-leg frogs in California's Sierra Nevada to determine whether the fungus was endemic or had been recently introduced.

Morgan says of six sites studied, four were dominated by a single genetic makeup or genotype, suggesting the fungus had been recently introduced and spread through clonal reproduction.

But she says at two sites evidence of recombination was found with multiple genotypes present.

This indicates for the first time that the fungus reproduces sexually and may be producing resistant spores.

Morgan says the presence of resistant spores helps explain the global spread of the disease and means the fungus can survive for long periods in areas where the frog population has been vastly reduced.

But it also means any attempts to reintroduce frog populations at sites of local extinction are likely to fail as the spores will re-infect the frogs.

Reintroduction

Morgan says of 10 attempts at reintroducing frogs in the Sierra Nevada during the past four years, seven have failed and three are ongoing.

She says resistant spores help spread the fungus as they are easily transported in dirt on tyres and shoes, and can hitchhike on birds and other wildlife.

Morgan says during the study researchers isolated 15 marker genes for the fungus, which will now be used in a worldwide hunt to track the geographic origin of the killer fungus.

"The next thing in terms of genetics is to find out where this is coming from," Morgan says.

"The area which is most likely the origin will not be suffering a decline in frog population. We are looking for a healthy population of frogs.

"If we can look at the frogs and find out how they are living with the disease then maybe we can [help] our frogs."

Morgan says the study also found some frogs within one species are resistant to the disease and could survive a mass mortality.

"It could be the frogs and the fungus are evolving to be able to live together," she says.

But she says more research is needed on the factors, either physical or environmental, behind this phenomenon.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/s...706.htm?enviro

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07-10-2008

NZ Jimmy, are you referring to amphibian disease such as chytrid? Most people place the blame on African clawed toads Xenopus laevis as the guilty party. The species has been widely distributed via the laboratory and aquarium trade and is believed to have acted as a vector for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. In the days when they were used for pregnancy testing, most hospitals had a tank or two of xenopus. More recently, the spread of chytrid has also been assisted by eager amphibian biologists rushing from site to site without properly cleaning their boots! This lack of biosecurity is often touted as the 'nail in the coffin' for the much publicised (in US collections at least) demise of the Kihansi Spray toad amongst others.

On another note, many cloud forest species are in decline due to changing climatic conditions. Changing temps affect the level at which clouds form leading to a decrease in leaf litter moisyure levels. The effect of this on amphibians and small lizards is becoming increasingly apparent.

10-10-2008

Recent evidence has shown that the two often are connected. The climate changes in many of these regions have set off proportionally larger changes in the micro-climates inhabited by most frogs. These modified micro-climates have apparently lead to better conditions for the chytrid fungus. Recent evidence has also shown that some other animals (for example some crayfish) can act as vectors for the fungi spores so even if all frogs in one stream die but a few survive in a nearby stream, the survivers risk getting the disease when they get back to the initial stream, even if there are no other frogs there! A very, very bad situation with entire genera nearing extinction. Try going through the Atelopus species list to see how many Critically Endangered there are. The sad fact is that many of these critically endangered species have not been seen for years and are likely already extinct:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atelopus

Actually, the answer is dirt simple...
4 Weeks Ago

ALL living critters (and probably a fair number of plant species) are under threat from climate change.

Consider: The food chain is critical to every living thing on the planet, from protozoans to blue whales (with humans somewhere in the middle).

If said chain is permanently disrupted by climate change, there's not a critter that breathes oxygen (either gaseous or dissolved in water) that won't be affected.

Keep the peace(es).

4 Weeks Ago

...combined pressures of habitat loss, climate change and infectious disease.

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4 Weeks Ago

Just wondering if the climate change will effect the earth's magnetic field, we were discussing it in Science class a while back, and my teacher said that it could effect the colours and/or movement of Aurora lights,
I know certain animals use electromagnetic fields to navigate, e.g whales, dolphins, seals even Hippos and elephants.

Apparently us humans, even though the sense has become dull over evolution, can sense where north is,

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4 Weeks Ago

Well thanks for all of the things people, I have finally found the thread again, great stuff, and I guess everything is affected by climate change.

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4 Weeks Ago

In the last 100,000 years the earths temperature has been as much as 5 degrees higher than it is now, Polar Bears seemed to survive that okay...

Take the hype with a grain of salt...

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4 Weeks Ago

I doubt that the polar bears are going to survive this. The pack ice in certain areas has all but melted all year round so depriving these animals of seal pups that are a staple diet.
Either these bears change there hunting characteristics super quick or they will only be seen in books.

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4 Weeks Ago

poor polar bears, just makes me really think, we basically have to care for other species concerning climate change, or else, there will be no other species that will be effected except for us, its hard to explain clearly,

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4 Weeks Ago

Loosing any species has a domino effect on everything else.
Its like taking bricks out of a wall. Eventually the wall will collapse.

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4 Weeks Ago

Thanks, that was the message I was kinda trying to get out, I'm bad with describing sometimes,

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3 Weeks Ago

A number of studies are suggesting that temperate plants will suffer badly as temperatures rise. Warm zone plants will, of course, spread and prosper.
Animals - such as pandas - "tied" to plants will suffer next.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/...ned.4656871.jp
Then the rest of the ecosystems tied to them. And if oceans do indeed rise, many coastal species may suffer if they cannot adapt to new coasts. If seagrass and other coastal habitats decline, many marine species who use them as nurseries will decline. As will the predators that depend on them. The polar bears are my lesser concern. As long as there is ice and prey some will survive. Pandas are far more tightly limited I think.

http://forests.org/shared/reader/wel...rees%20migrate

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0809234056.htm

We could go on and on

Although the last time polar bears saw warmer temperatures, they didn't have 6 billion humans rushing to build seaside condos in their hunting territory. Or oil explorers. Or mining engineers. The past is not identical to the future