Chapter 4, Problem 1CR

To determine

The threats to many of the world’s amphibian species and the reason why the hastening of the extinction of amphibian species through human activities should be avoided.

Answer to Problem 1CR

Some of the threats faced by amphibians include increased hunting for the skin, hoofs, nails, and flesh of these animals; polluting of water bodies; and deforestation. The amphibian population should be protected from becoming extinct as they are good biological indicators and the potential source of certain important medicines. In addition, they also play a major role in the food chain by controlling the insect population.

Explanation of Solution

Amphibians are a class of cold-blooded organisms that live in dual mode. They live part of their life cycle in water and part of their life on land. As they require water for fertilization, they cannot be completely considered as terrestrial animals. Amphibians include frogs, salamanders, toads, and many others.

Amphibians are presently under the threat of extinction due to human activities, such as increased hunting and poaching, water pollution, and deforestation. Animals are hunted and poached for various products, such skin, nails, teeth, hoofs and so forth. In response to these anthropogenic activities, the number of amphibians on the Earth has progressively declined.

Polluting water bodies with industrial chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides that run off from agricultural lands would adversely affect the life of amphibians and other aquatic organisms. Animals face disturbance in their breeding and fertilization processes, and they also lose their habitats.

Deforestation is also a cause for the extinction of the amphibians as they lose their natural habitats, which makes it difficult for them to survive in new habitats and conditions, and the animals tend to die off in such a situation.

The extinction or a decrease in the majority of the amphibian population can result in destructive effects. This is due to several reasons. One of those is the considerable role of the amphibians in the food chain that works to balance various natural processes.

Several adult amphibians feed on insects for food. Frogs and toads are known to feed on the larva of mosquito that spreads diseases such as malaria, typhoid. Hence, without these amphibians, the population of certain insects would considerably increase and the occurrence of some insect-caused diseases would also increase drastically. Amphibians also keep the water bodies clean by eating off algae and other fungal population.

Moreover, amphibians act as important bioindicators of environmental changes, such as water and air pollution, habitat loss, ultraviolet radiation, and climatic fluctuations. The decline in the number of amphibians indicates the presence of a deteriorating condition in a particular area, which adversely affects the life of amphibians.

The compounds present in the secretions from the skin of some amphibians may be useful in many pharmaceutical products. A number of such compounds have been separated and used as antibiotics, painkillers, and also in the treatments of heart disease and burns. Therefore, if amphibians vanish, these potential medical benefits will also be wiped out with them.