Climate change is causing amphibian populations around the world to decline at even higher rates, scientists say

A Rio Pescado stubby-footed toad at the Karlsruhe Zoo. It is one of the most endangered amphibian species in the world, found only in southwestern Ecuador and measures just three to four centimeters.A major class of vertebrate species is experiencing widespread population declines due to climate change, according to new research.

But global warming in recent decades is likely the culprit for the increased declines, the researchers said. Since 2004, when the first Global Amphibian Assessment was completed by the IUCN, the primary driver of the declines has shifted from disease to climate change, according to the paper.

The greatest concentrations of threatened species were found in the Caribbean islands, Mesoamerica, the tropical Andes in South America, the mountains and forests of western Cameroon and eastern Nigeria in Africa, Madagascar, the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

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