The global extinction is accelerated by a fungus (fungus) that harms and kills amphibians, the chytrid fungus that has been known for several years and probably originates from Africa harms amphibians all over the world and endangers their survival
The amphibians are extinct. With us, the sounds of the toads disappear and the croaking of the frogs becomes silent, newts and salamanders are no longer seen, mainly due to the loss of habitats, winter puddles become multi-storeyed and the roads have no place for croakers, we are not the only ones, in the whole world amphibians are becoming extinct at a rate greater than the extinction of the dinosaurs.
But the global extinction is accelerated by a fungus (fungus) that harms and kills amphibians, the chytrid fungus that has been known for several years and probably originates from Africa harms amphibians all over the world and endangers their survival.
Amphibians are an important link in the food chain, by eating insects they protect the environment from population explosion that spreads diseases and pests. Amphibians are also used in research and drug discovery, but above all amphibians are the "canaries" of the natural environment. Their presence (or absence) symbolizes the state of health of the environment.
According to the researchers, in the last decade about 170 species of frogs became extinct and about 1900 species are in danger, when the causes of extinction are many but the first and main cause is the fungus.
Researchers from around the world gathered to organize a global effort to save the amphibians, the participants of the meeting decided to establish a "comfort box" for amphibians, the intention is to create an accumulation of about 6000 species of amphibians, which will be a breeding nucleus for the return of the croakers to the wild, this after they knew how Overcome the deadly fungus. Breeding nuclei will be created in zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, collectors and enthusiasts, each institution should keep (at least) 500 individuals of the endangered species, to protect them from being affected by the fungus.
According to those gathered, the cost of the project will be about 500 million dollars. To fund it, the entrepreneurs are launching a fundraising campaign. The fungus is not the only killer of amphibians, the disappearance of habitats, global warming, damage to habitats, are factors that endanger the amphibian population, but the fungus kills faster than all other factors and is therefore a main factor in the need to launch the Amphibian Comfort Box .
Dr. Assaf Rosenthal,
Tour guide/leader in Africa and South America.
For details: Tel. 0505640309 / 077-6172298,
Email: assaf@eilatcity.co.il
