By definition, amphibians must be born and mature in water before they develop to live on land. It also gives an idea as to the worth of the amphibian's ecosystem services. One might ask the value of a car horn, or a smoke detector. Loss of any group of species ultimately impacts the overall functioning of the ecosystem. Daszak et al.
Amphibians are crucial both as a source of prey and as predators controlling other small species.
There is little question, then, that it is in humanity's best interests to understand and prevent the precipitous fall the amphibians are undergoing. Despite their apparent vulnerability, amphibians have been one of the Earth's great survival stories. First appearing almost 300 million years ago, they have flourished in the face of adversity. Many scientists now believe that human changes to the environment have placed us in another great period of extinction, and that this time the amphibians may be one of the groups most affected. Examples of each have been found to be relevant to specific groups, but in other cases have not applied.