If the frog doesn't exist, the snake will attach it? Pot bacteria disease will lead to the extinction of species worldwide

frogs and their eggs are an important source of nutrition for many snakes. In the forests of Panama, this small blunt-headed tree snake feeds on frog eggs.since 1998, scientists have documented the disappearance of amphibians around the world. More than 500 amphibians have declined as a result of the fungal pathogen batrachochyum, commonly known as pot bacteria, 90 of which have gone extinct.
study, conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland and Michigan State University, shows for the first time that amphibian extinction has a knock-on effect on snakes. The paper was published in Science on February 14.
study found that a large number of frogs died after pot bacteria swept through a remote forest in Panama, accompanied by a sharp decline in the number of snake species, leading to a more homogenous snake community. The study is a wake-up call for a biodiversity crisis or the disappearance of wildlife around the world.
" study highlights that other changes caused by the loss of amphibians may be invisible or not significant. Study co-author Karen Lips, of biology at the University of Maryland, said.
S. -- Some rare or hard-to-find species may be declining so rapidly that we may never realize we're losing them," Elise Zipkin, a comprehensive biologist at Michigan State University and the study's co-author, told China Science. In fact, the study focused more on the widespread loss of biodiversity and its consequences than just snakes. Theis an infectious disease caused by a fungus called pot bacteria, which can damage the skin of amphibians and, in severe cases, cause death. Pot bacteria are caused by two kinds of pot bacteria: one is the stone kettle bacteria, and the other is the pot bacteria. Driven by globalization and the wildlife trade, the diseases caused by it spread rapidly.
many amphibians are facing a serious threat of pot bacteria disease, but there is no effective method of kettle bacteria disease control.Li Yiming, a researcher at theInstitute of Zoology, said in an interview with the China Science Daily that amphibians have seen rapid and "mysterious" declines in populations around the world in recent decades, with one of the main culprits being kettle bacteria.
is currently present in more than 60 countries and territories around the world, the most severely affected are Australia, Central and South America. Over the past 30 years, the disease has caused a dramatic decline in the number of more than 40 frogs in Australia alone, seven of which have gone extinct.
caused an "unprecedented" decline in amphibian populations, making it "one of the most destructive invasive species in the world." In the next 10 to 20 years, many of the world's species are estimated to be at risk of extinction due to pot bacteria.
" the pathogen's behavior is crazy. Trenton Garner, of the Zoological Society of London, said the disease was a major driver, as well as pressures such as habitat loss and climate change, which caused amphibians to decline rapidly.
but this decline "pulls the whole body" and may affect more than just amphibians. Many snakes feed on frogs and frog eggs, so researchers expect the decline in frog numbers to affect the number of snakes.chose to study snakes because we knew they ate amphibians, so it is assumed that the extinction of amphibians could have a negative impact on snakes. Other groups in the region may also be affected, but many species lack data, so we may never be able to estimate these effects. Zipkin told China Science Daily.
, the slim reptile is notoriously mysterious and difficult to study in the wild. Until then, how snakes survive the pot bacteria epidemic was largely based on speculation.
Lips, Zipkin and colleagues analyzed data from a seven-year survey collected in a national park near Elkop, Panama. The data were watershed by an outbreak of pot bacteria that led to the amphibian extermination in 2004, and the researchers compared data from the year before and six years after the outbreak.
, however, even with such a wide range of data sets, many species are detected so often that traditional analytical methods are not possible. For example, of the 36 snakes observed in the study, 12 were found only once and five twice.
researchers were unable to say exactly how many snakes had declined, nor could they confirm that a snake species had disappeared simply because it did not appear in the post-kettle disease survey.
"We need to rethink that, and for species that lack data, we often can't accurately assess their population changes, but instead we need to consider the possibility that snake populations are now worse off than they used to be." Zipkin said.
, the researchers built statistical models that focused on estimating the probability of changes in snake diversity indicators after amphibian extinction, rather than their absolute numbers.
show that the snake's community has changed dramatically compared to before. Snake species have declined by 85 per cent compared to before the decline in amphibian populations, species numbers have declined, and the rate of many species has declined.
addition, many snakes are in poor health after the number of frogs has declined. "A lot of snakes are thin and look like they're going to starve to death." Lips said. researchers are convinced that the changes they observe in the snake community are due to the disappearance of amphibians, not other environmental factors. Because the study area is located in a national park, habitat loss, human social development, pollution, or other factors that may directly affect the number of snakes are limited.
addition, the site was remote, where Lips conducted annual surveys in the years leading up to the epidemic. This provides a rare window into the rapid changes in ecosystems after the catastrophic disappearance of amphibians.
say the disappearance of any species is devastating, and that a decline or extinction of a species can trigger avalanches in ecosystems. For example, when the loss of biodiversity causes a chain reaction in an area, many species that lack data - animals that do not receive enough research to understand how best to protect - will perish.
we need to act quickly to make amphibians a high priority conservation species and to include species that lack data in conservation strategies," said Pamela González-del-Pliego of Yale University in New York. The
is not the worst news. The real bad news is that the extent of the damage suggests that species losses around the world are far greater than the scientific community has long estimated.
Zipkin believes that a disturbance event is indirectly producing a large number of "losers" and some "winners", a phenomenon that is becoming more common and leading to biohomogenization worldwide, or the gradual becoming more similar in form of different ecosystems.
" work underscores the importance of long-term research in understanding the intangible knock-on effects of species extinction. Lips said, "Everything changed after the frog population dropped. We must know what is being lost or we may not be able to provide effective protection. However
, scientists believe improvements in forecasting and modeling will help strengthen conservation efforts. Data-driven, proactive change can prevent mass species deaths and curb biodiversity loss.
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