Species Collapse, Salamander Populations

“Salamanders in Central America — like frogs, toads, and other amphibians at sites around the world — are rapidly and mysteriously declining, report researchers writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Disturbingly, salamanders are disappearing from protected areas and otherwise pristine habitats....Overall the average number of salamanders documented by researchers per visit over the course of the surveys fell from nearly 80 in the 1970s to 1.8 between 2005 and 2007, a drop of 98 percent....The researchers do not know yet what is causing the decline, though they suspect a human link. Deforestation of lowland areas, as well as regional climate change, can influence cloud formation and moisture at altitude, making it more difficult for some salamanders to persist.”