Climate change is also having an impact on frogs that live on mountain tops. They are being hit hard since they are dependent on moist leaf litter found in cloud forests as a suitable place to lay their eggs. As temperatures increase further up mountain sides, clouds are being pushed further away and leaves are drying out leaving less suitable habitat for frogs to lay their eggs. As frogs migrate further up the mountain they are faced with the inevitable problem that once they reach the top, unlike birds, they can go no further.
Frogs are also facing many threats from many different environmental factors: pollution, infectious diseases, habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, and over-harvesting for the pet and food trades are all contributing to the rapid rise of frog extinctions since 1980.
What you can to do to help frogs
Don’t use pesticides
Don’t spray pesticides in your yard, whether they are insecticides, herbicides or fungicides. They can kill amphibians directly, cause deformities, or eliminate their habitat and food sources. Use organic gardening practices at home, don’t hire lawn care companies that dump pesticides everywhere, and try to educate your neighbors about the harm that these chemicals can do to wildlife.
Save water, save frogs
The water we use every day has to come from somewhere, and the places we take it from are diverting it from prime frog habitats. Conserving water, and wasting less hot water, will help save energy and save some for them. Choosing tap water over bottled water will also conserve resources frogs need, and comes with the added bonus of keeping an unholy amount of plastic from entering our environment.
Protect wetlands
Fight to protect local natural areas, especially wetlands. Many species can be bolstered and supported by “backyard habitats” but if all the surrounding natural area is paved over and developed, most species will decline regardless of what we do in our yards.
