A recent study in Nature Climate change reveals alarming news for frog populations worldwide.
Due to increasing aridity caused by climate change, scientists predict that by 2080 to 2100, between 7 percent and over one-third of frog habitats may become too dry for survival.
If human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, isn’t curtailed, these environments could become inhospitable for many amphibians.
The study also highlights that up to 36 percent of frog habitats could face frequent droughts, worsened by extreme heat waves.
Human land use, driven by residential and commercial expansion, further exacerbates the issue, contributing to the drying of essential frog environments.
This research is part of a growing body of work showing how vulnerable frogs are to Climate change.
A 2022 paper published in Scientific Data reported that scientists still lack heat tolerance data for 93 percent of known amphibian species.
“We focused on amphibians because 41% of the assessed species are threatened, and temperature is an important driver of their extinction,” the authors noted.
The findings are not just a warning for frogs—Climate change threatens many species.
The damage to one part of the ecosystem can have ripple effects, impacting a wide range of life on Earth.
This article by Trinity Sparke was first published by One Green Planet on 27 October 2024. Image Credit :Sazid Rezwan/Shutterstock.
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