Ongoing declines for the world’s amphibians in the face of emerging threats
Authors: Luedtke Jennifer A. , Chanson Janice , Neam Kelsey , Hobin Louise , Maciel Adriano O. , Catenazzi Alessandro , Borzée Amaël , Hamidy Amir , Aowphol Anchalee , Jean Anderson , Sosa-Bartuano Ángel , Fong G. Ansel , de Silva Anslem , Fouquet Antoine , Angulo Ariadne , Kidov Artem A. , Muñoz Saravia Arturo , Diesmos Arvin C. , Tominaga Atsushi , Shrestha Biraj , Gratwicke Brian , Tjaturadi Burhan , Martínez Rivera Carlos C. , Vásquez Almazán Carlos R. , Señaris Celsa , Chandramouli S. R. , Strüssmann Christine , Cortez Fernández Claudia Fabiola , Azat Claudio , Hoskin Conrad J. , Hilton-Taylor Craig , Whyte Damion L. , Gower David J. , Olson Deanna H. , Cisneros-Heredia Diego F. , Santana Diego José , Nagombi Elizah , Najafi-Majd Elnaz , Quah Evan S. H. , Bolaños Federico , Xie Feng , Brusquetti Francisco , Álvarez Francisco S. , Andreone Franco , Glaw Frank , Castañeda Franklin Enrique , Kraus Fred , Parra-Olea Gabriela , Chaves Gerardo , Medina-Rangel Guido F. , González-Durán Gustavo , Ortega-Andrade H. Mauricio , Machado Iberê F. , Das Indraneil , Dias Iuri Ribeiro , Urbina-Cardona J. Nicolas , Crnobrnja-Isailović Jelka , Yang Jian-Huan , Jianping Jiang , Wangyal Jigme Tshelthrim , Rowley Jodi J. L. , Measey John , Vasudevan Karthikeyan , Chan Kin Onn , Gururaja Kotambylu Vasudeva , Ovaska Kristiina , Warr Lauren C. , Canseco-Márquez Luis , Toledo Luís Felipe , Díaz Luis M. , Khan M. Monirul H. , Meegaskumbura Madhava , Acevedo Manuel E. , Napoli Marcelo Felgueiras , Ponce Marcos A. , Vaira Marcos , Lampo Margarita , Yánez-Muñoz Mario H. , Scherz Mark D. , Rödel Mark-Oliver , Matsui Masafumi , Fildor Maxon , Kusrini Mirza D. , Ahmed Mohammad Firoz , Rais Muhammad , Kouamé N’Goran G. , García Nieves , Gonwouo Nono Legrand , Burrowes Patricia A. , Imbun Paul Y. , Wagner Philipp , Kok Philippe J. R. , Joglar Rafael L. , Auguste Renoir J. , Brandão Reuber Albuquerque , Ibáñez Roberto , von May Rudolf , Hedges S. Blair , Biju S. D. , Ganesh S. R. , Wren Sally , Das Sandeep , Flechas Sandra V. , Ashpole Sara L. , Robleto-Hernández Silvia J. , Loader Simon P. , Incháustegui Sixto J. , Garg Sonali , Phimmachak Somphouthone , Richards Stephen J. , Slimani Tahar , Osborne-Naikatini Tamara , Abreu-Jardim Tatianne P. F. , Condez Thais H. , De Carvalho Thiago R. , Cutajar Timothy P. , Pierson Todd W. , Nguyen Truong Q. , Kaya Uğur , Yuan Zhiyong , Long Barney , Langhammer Penny , Stuart Simon N. 
Published: October 2023

Systematic assessments of species extinction risk at regular intervals are necessary for informing conservation action1,2. Ongoing developments in taxonomy, threatening processes and research further underscore the need for reassessment3,4. Here we report the findings of the second Global Amphibian Assessment, evaluating 8,011 species for the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. We find that amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class (40.7% of species are globally threatened). The updated Red List Index shows that the status of amphibians is deteriorating globally, particularly for salamanders and in the Neotropics. Disease and habitat loss drove 91% of status deteriorations between 1980 and 2004. Ongoing and projected climate change effects are now of increasing concern, driving 39% of status deteriorations since 2004, followed by habitat loss (37%). Although signs of species recoveries incentivize immediate conservation action, scaled-up investment is urgently needed to reverse the current trends.