Threat to amphibians

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

A recent islandwide research had identified 25 distinct threats to amphibians in Sri Lanka. "In Sri Lanka many amphibians are rapidly declining and already 21 species are extinct," said the senior researcher Anslem de Silva, Co-Chairman of the Amphibian Specialists Group of Sri Lanka.

De Silva said most of the threats on amphibians are due to human activities. "In the survey we found that degradation, fragmentation and loss of habitat, introducing new predators and exotic fish such as the guppy pollution, contaminants, pathogens, and climate change and many other factors threaten amphibians."

Amphibians are the best vertebrate indicator species of environmental degradation, de Silva said.

According to a research done by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in the world nearly 130 species are disappearing since 1980.

Amphibians are facing an extinction crisis and are considered to have the highest extinction rate of any vertebrate group.