Vance Vredenburg on the Declining Amphibian Phenomenon

Vance, who works in the University of California's Department of Integrative Biology, explains some of the facts behind the rapid worldwide decline in amphibian populations. In what has become the Earth's sixth mass extinction crisis, 1 in 3 amphibians are currently at risk of extinction. Because they spend their lives both underwater and on land, and because their skins are highly permeable, they are more susceptible to toxins in the environment than other organisms such as birds or mammals. Many scientists believe that amphibians serve as "canaries in a coal mine," a warning to the rest of us that danger lies ahead.

Download 19:17  Recorded April 5, 2006