News and links

• Disease, habitat loss and climate change threatens amphibians
• Climate culprit for frog deaths
• Solving the mystery of the bizarre deformed frogs
• Launch for amphibian 'life raft'
• Tiny frog claimed as world's smallest vertebrate
• Why we must save the frogs

"Why should we care about this tremendous loss of amphibian biodiversity just within the past 30 years? Amazingly, amphibians may help save the world from the depletion of fossil fuels; researchers have recently designed a novel artificial photosynthesis system from a protein in the foam nest of the túngara frog.  The system can produce up to 10 times more biofuel per hectare than plant-based systems do, and can be used on rooftops and non-cultivatable land.  For another, amphibians produce many unique compounds in their skin that may have medical relevance to humans.  One such compound, epibatidine (derived from a poison dart frog Epipedobates anthonyi), is an analgesic 200 times more potent than morphine. Every year, almost 200 new species of amphibians are described, especially from poorly known tropical areas. What we know about amphibians is just the tip of the iceberg; how many species are being wiped out before scientists can even describe them, let alone decipher what help they might be to humans? Amphibians are also key components in ecosystem food webs.  Loss of amphibians thus has a cascading impact on ecosystem food webs." taken from Amphibian Population Declines (my own emphases)