Frogs, toads, salamanders… Climate change has become the main factor bringing amphibians closer to extinction, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Naturethe authors pleading for the protection of habitats and the reduction of CO emissions2.
In the absence of feathers, hair or scales to protect them, these creatures, capable of living on land and in water, are particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment.
They can thus dehydrate quickly due to warming or suffer from the disappearance of moist breeding grounds. More frequent and intense storms, flooding and rising water levels also threaten amphibian habitats.
“In many cases, these changes are too rapid for them to adapt,” notes Kelsey Neam, specialist with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and co-author of the study.
“Climate change represents an undervalued threat to amphibians” and one that will become more and more “obvious,” points out this scientist.
A large study from 2004 had already shown that these animals were the most endangered vertebrates on the planet.
In the article published Wednesday, the scientists build on an update last year of this global study, based on the assessment of 8,011 species on behalf of the IUCN.
They conclude that the situation for amphibians has continued to deteriorate, with 41% now classified as “threatened” (a category that includes vulnerable, endangered and “critically” endangered species).
Climate change is responsible for 39% of the decline in species conservation status since 2004 (affecting 119 species), followed by habitat loss at 37%.
“Even closer to extinction”
Habitat destruction and degradation — linked to intensive agriculture or infrastructure construction — remains the most common threat, affecting 93% of threatened amphibian species.
The now preeminent role of climate in the negative dynamics affecting these animals constitutes a great novelty, because diseases and habitat losses were responsible for 91% of status degradations between 1980 and 2004, only 1% being attributed mainly to climate change. .
In certain regions of Australia or Brazil, drought caused by climate change should, for example, threaten the reproduction of frogs, which need the humidity of soils and leaves to protect their eggs.
“Climate change is expected to push some species even closer to extinction,” says Kelsey Neam.
“By protecting amphibians, we are protecting forests and ecosystems that represent important, nature-based solutions to combat climate change,” she argues, emphasizing the urgency of protecting habitats and reducing carbon emissions. greenhouse gas.
These animals play an essential role in the food chain, feeding birds, mammals and reptiles.
Salamanders and newts are the most affected species, with a threat concentrated in certain regions such as the Caribbean, the tropical Andes, Madagascar or Sri Lanka.
Five species of salamanders have thus experienced a deterioration in their conservation status due to fires and less humid soils linked to droughts made more frequent and intense by climate change.
Jennifer Luedtke, co-author of the study, also notes that the concentration of amphibians in certain regions makes them more fragile but can also promote efforts for their conservation.
The protection of habitats was thus able to play a major role for species which saw their conservation status improve between 2004 and 2022, adds Kelsey Neam.