How frogs help the environment
(and how we can help frogs)
By cecilia owen
The Wyoming toad was found abundantly until the 1970's when it saw a great decline in its population. This is attributed largely to the fact that a mosquito control product was being used in the general area in which these toads made their homes. Wyoming toads were put on the endangered species list and in 1991 they were announced extinct in the wild. However, the Wyoming toad is not the only endangered frog species. Many other frog species have become endangered or extinct in the wild. Many others have even become completely extinct. The largest contributors to amphibian extinction include pesticides, global warming, and habitat loss. Fortunately, there is hope for the Wyoming toad. Its survival is not certain, but scientists are working on helping these toads make a comeback. The near extinction of these toads has served as a warning to the people of Wyoming, and other conservation reforms have been put in place to protect other wildlife in Wyoming.
While the diminishing population of frogs is awful, it has in a way served to help the environment. Frogs are often said to be bioindicators. This essentially means that you can monitor the health of the environment by the health of frog populations. Frogs absorb harmful chemicals through their skin, showing that the environment is in a state of unrest. Frogs help the environment in other ways as well. Frogs are a very important part of the food chain. If frogs were all to go extinct, not only would the bug population get out of control, but the birds of prey, snakes, and other predators that rely on frogs as a food source would begin to die out. This would create a chain reaction causing the whole ecosystem to fall apart.
Frogs have lived on earth for 250 million years. They lived through many major environmental disasters without any major decline in the frog population. And yet, now 1/3 of all frog species are on the verge of extinction. Frogs have endured many environmental tragedies, but we are the ones that have truly begun to cause the frog population to decease. This truly says a lot about the state of the environment today and the poor way that people have treated it.
To learn more about how frogs and how you can help them, go to the following link.
http://www.savethefrogs.com/index.html
While the diminishing population of frogs is awful, it has in a way served to help the environment. Frogs are often said to be bioindicators. This essentially means that you can monitor the health of the environment by the health of frog populations. Frogs absorb harmful chemicals through their skin, showing that the environment is in a state of unrest. Frogs help the environment in other ways as well. Frogs are a very important part of the food chain. If frogs were all to go extinct, not only would the bug population get out of control, but the birds of prey, snakes, and other predators that rely on frogs as a food source would begin to die out. This would create a chain reaction causing the whole ecosystem to fall apart.
Frogs have lived on earth for 250 million years. They lived through many major environmental disasters without any major decline in the frog population. And yet, now 1/3 of all frog species are on the verge of extinction. Frogs have endured many environmental tragedies, but we are the ones that have truly begun to cause the frog population to decease. This truly says a lot about the state of the environment today and the poor way that people have treated it.
To learn more about how frogs and how you can help them, go to the following link.
http://www.savethefrogs.com/index.html