Climate change: Heatwaves and droughts further exacerbate the situation of amphibians

Frankfurt/Main. A large proportion of amphibian species are already threatened with extinction – extreme weather events are further exacerbating their situation. Animals in Europe, the Amazon region, and Madagascar are particularly affected because heat waves and droughts are increasing significantly there, a Frankfurt research team reports in the journal "Conservation Biology."

In Central Europe, salamanders are primarily affected. "Half of the salamanders native to Central Europe are already increasingly exposed to drought periods – and this will likely become even more severe in the future," said co-author Lisa Schulte of Goethe University Frankfurt.

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The true salamanders include the fire salamander, the alpine salamander and the smooth newt.

The scientists led by Evan Twomey from Goethe University had compared global weather data from the last 40 years on heat waves, cold spells and droughts with the geographical distribution of more than 7,000 amphibian species and their endangerment status on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In areas where there were more heatwaves and droughts, the threat status of amphibians has worsened noticeably since 2004. "Amphibians' dependence on temporary wetlands for reproduction makes them particularly vulnerable to droughts and temperature shifts that prematurely dry out their breeding grounds," Twomey explained.

Currently, around 40 percent of known amphibian species are classified as threatened with extinction on the Red List. Experts attribute this to climate change, habitat loss, disease, and environmental pollution. Amphibian species generally depend on freshwater or moist terrestrial habitats.

RND/dpa