Save The Frogs - And Perhaps Ourselves

Amphibians are going extinct around the globe. As a scientist specializing in frogs, I have watched dozens of species of these creatures die out. The extinction of frogs and salamanders might seem unimportant, but this couldn't be further from the truth. These animals regulate their local ecosystems, consume and control populations of mosquitoes and other insects that spread disease, and potentially point the way to new drugs for fighting diseases such as cancer and HIV-AIDS. Their fate is inexorably linked to our own.

The biggest danger to most species today is habitat loss. But a new threat, specific to amphibians, has spread across the globe. From the Panamanian jungles to the Appalachian Mountains, entire species of frogs and salamanders are disappearing at an alarming rate. But it's not too late to implement global conservation policies that could mean the difference between survival and extinction.

This epidemic is due to a disease called chytridiomycosis, caused by a microscopic fungus that lives in water and moist soil. Animals that live primarily in cool, moist environments are the perfect target for the deadly pathogen.

This disease does not respect boundaries between countries or those that identify protected areas. We have already officially lost more than 120 species, but the real number is likely much higher, as lack of research funding limits the necessary investigations required to officially declare a species extinct or to even identify many of those that can be distinguished only through genetic analyses.

Such extinctions can devastate nature's ecosystems, but humans will feel the loss too. Biomedical researchers have relied on animals to help understand and treat disease in humans for generations. Indeed, two of my colleagues recently found some chemicals that are naturally produced in the skin of various frog species that can kill the HIV virus, certain kinds of cancers and other microbial pathogens.

When species go extinct, our list of ingredients for products and pharmaceuticals shrinks, potentially erasing cures before they are discovered. And with one in three amphibians currently in danger of extinction, researchers are now locked into a high-stakes race with the clock.