Vanishing Amphibians Vanishing Amphibians Small-format Exhibition From the National Museum of Natural History Eleutherodactylus chalceus. Like the lining of your lungs, amphibian skin is moist and thin. Most frogs use their lungs and skin to breathe. Roy W. McDiarmid, National Biological Survey Among the many wonders of this planet, its vast array of life is perhaps the most astonishing. Species have evolved to fill almost every conceivable niche, from high Andean forests to the depths of the ocean floor.
Scientists consider such diversity an indication of a healthy ecosystem.
But when a species disappears, it is cause for concern on many levels. As Vanishing Amphibians reveals, such is the case with amphibian populations around the world. In the mid-1980s, scientists became aware of the loss of amphibian populations worldwide. Explanations for these disappearances have ranged from habitat loss, to contamination of breeding sites by agricultural chemicals, to the thinning of the ozone layer. Intriguingly, while one amphibian species may dwindle to the point of extinction, another, living in the same environment, might retain a viable population.