PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA, CC BY-SA
The picture
Frogs, toads, salamanders and newts are living indicators of a healthy planet - their thin skin makes them sensitive to pollution and warming. They are also the most endangered vertebrate class, but captive-breeding and wetland restoration are bringing some back from the brink.
The science
Class Amphibia, ~8,700 species. Amphibians breathe partly through their skin, which must stay moist - making them acutely sensitive to pollutants, disease, and drying habitats.
In numbers
Worth repeating at dinner
Amphibians are the most threatened class of vertebrates - over 40% face extinction.
- IUCN Red List
A frog largely drinks and breathes through a patch of skin, not its mouth.
- Nat Geo
What they face
A skin-attacking fungus has devastated frog populations on nearly every continent.
IUCN
Draining ponds and pesticide runoff destroy breeding sites.
Xerces Society
What is already working
Small clean ponds give frogs safe places to breed.
Zoos raise disease-free frogs to re-seed wild populations.
Reasons for hope
Captive-bred corroboree frogs and others are being returned to the wild.
Some populations are evolving resistance to chytrid and recovering.
Meet them
Small actions that reach them
People doing the big work
Hopeling is also a pocket companion: one fact, one small act a day. Open the app