Book contents
- The Living Planet
- The Living Planet
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- One Introduction and the Evolution of Life on Earth
- Two Flowering Plants
- Three Bryophytes and Pteridophytes: Spore-Bearing Land Plants
- Four Terrestrial Mammals
- Five Marine Mammals: Exploited for Millennia, But Still Holding On
- Six How Birds Reveal the Scale of the Biodiversity Crisis
- Seven Reptiles
- Eight Amphibians
- Nine Freshwater Fishes: Threatened Species and Threatened Waters on a Global Scale
- Ten The Amazing Yet Threatened World of Marine Fishes
- Eleven Insects
- Twelve Marine Invertebrates
- Thirteen Non-Insect Terrestrial Arthropods
- Fourteen Terrestrial Invertebrates Other Than Arthropods and Molluscs
- Fifteen Non-Marine Molluscs
- Sixteen An Account of the Diversity and Conservation of Fungi and Their Close Relatives
- Seventeen Simple Life Forms
- Eighteen Assessing Species Conservation Status: The IUCN Red List and Green Status of Species
- Nineteen Problems with the World’s Ecosystems: The Future and Attempts to Mitigate Decline
- Twenty Conservation Methods and Successes
- Twenty One What Does the Future Hold for Our Planet and its Wildlife?
- Species Index
- Subject Index
- References
Eight - Amphibians
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 April 2023
Book contents
- The Living Planet
- The Living Planet
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- One Introduction and the Evolution of Life on Earth
- Two Flowering Plants
- Three Bryophytes and Pteridophytes: Spore-Bearing Land Plants
- Four Terrestrial Mammals
- Five Marine Mammals: Exploited for Millennia, But Still Holding On
- Six How Birds Reveal the Scale of the Biodiversity Crisis
- Seven Reptiles
- Eight Amphibians
- Nine Freshwater Fishes: Threatened Species and Threatened Waters on a Global Scale
- Ten The Amazing Yet Threatened World of Marine Fishes
- Eleven Insects
- Twelve Marine Invertebrates
- Thirteen Non-Insect Terrestrial Arthropods
- Fourteen Terrestrial Invertebrates Other Than Arthropods and Molluscs
- Fifteen Non-Marine Molluscs
- Sixteen An Account of the Diversity and Conservation of Fungi and Their Close Relatives
- Seventeen Simple Life Forms
- Eighteen Assessing Species Conservation Status: The IUCN Red List and Green Status of Species
- Nineteen Problems with the World’s Ecosystems: The Future and Attempts to Mitigate Decline
- Twenty Conservation Methods and Successes
- Twenty One What Does the Future Hold for Our Planet and its Wildlife?
- Species Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
Amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class on Earth. They play important roles in ecosystems and are often cited as sentinels of environmental health. Around 84% of the 8208 amphibian species have been assessed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with 41% categorised as threatened with extinction. As is the case with other species, the main threatening process for many amphibians is habitat destruction, disturbance and fragmentation. However, amphibians are also highly vulnerable to emerging infectious diseases, climate change, invasive species and pollution. These threats often interact, resulting in complex impacts on amphibian populations. Fortunately, there are several initiatives (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG), Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) and the Amphibian Ark(AArk)) focused on understanding and protecting the many threatened species through global coordination, conservation planning, habitat protection, supporting conservation action, fundraising, emergency rescues and captive breeding for conservation. Diverse amphibian lifestyles, coupled with the complexity of threats, means that different species will respond in different ways and in different places. Consequently there are likely to be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in a changing world, rather than complete extinction of a class. Amphibian conservation therefore remains one of the greatest challenges of our times.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Living PlanetThe State of the World's Wildlife, pp. 153 - 176Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
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