SubscribeFrog Deaths Not Related To Global Warming
From the hard-headed scientists at the New York Times:
Link to Global Warming in Frogs’ Disappearance Is Challenged
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: March 25, 2008HARD TO MISS Three varieties of glass frogs rescued from Panama: Cochranella granulosa, top left; Cochranella albomaculata, bottom left; and Centrolene ilex, bottom right. At top right is an Atelopus harlequin from the middle Andes in Peru.
In the scientific equivalent of the board game Clue, teams of biologists have been sifting spotty evidence and pointing to various culprits in the widespread vanishing of harlequin frogs.
The amphibians, of the genus Atelopus — actually toads despite their common name — once hopped in great numbers along stream banks on misty slopes from the Andes to Costa Rica. After 20 years of die-offs, they are listed as critically endangered by conservation groups and are mainly seen in zoos.
It looked as if one research team was a winner in 2006 when global warming was identified as the “trigger” in the extinctions by the authors of a much-cited paper in Nature. The researchers said they had found a clear link between unusually warm years and the vanishing of mountainside frog populations.
The “bullet,” the researchers said, appeared to be a chytrid fungus that has attacked amphibian populations in many parts of the world but thrives best in particular climate conditions.
The authors, led by J. Alan Pounds of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica, said, “Here we show that a recent mass extinction associated with pathogen outbreaks is tied to global warming.” The study was featured in reports last year by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Other researchers have been questioning that connection. Last year, two short responses in Nature questioned facets of the 2006 paper. In the journal, Dr. Pounds and his team said the new analyses in fact backed their view that “global warming contributes to the present amphibian crisis,” but avoided language saying it was “a key factor,” as they wrote in 2006.
Now, in the March 25 issue of PLoS Biology, another team argues that the die-offs of harlequins and some other amphibians reflect the spread and repeated introductions of the chytrid fungus. They question the analysis linking the disappearances to climate change. In interviews and e-mail exchanges, Dr. Pounds and the lead author of the new paper, Karen R. Lips of Southern Illinois University, disputed each other’s analysis. Experts who have researched the amphibian said neither group had enough evidence to nail down its case and warned that this normal tussle over scientific details should not distract from the reality that humans are clearly roiling biology in ways important and yet poorly understood.
“There is so much we still do not know!” David B. Wake, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote in an e-mail note after reading the new paper. The origin of the fungus and the way it kills amphibians remain unknown, he said, and there are ample mysteries about why it breaks out in certain places and times and not others.
Dr. Pounds and Dr. Lips have both done important work, Dr. Wake said, adding, “I hope this does not turn into a ‘spitting contest,’ because we all have a lot to learn about amphibian declines.”
Ross A. Alford, a tropical biologist at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, said such scientific tussles, while important, could be a distraction, particularly when considering the uncertain risks attending global warming.
“Arguing about whether we can or cannot already see the effects,” he said, “is like sitting in a house soaked in gasoline, having just dropped a lit match, and arguing about whether we can actually see the flames yet, while waiting to see if maybe it might go out on its own.”
Once again, a global warming "proof" goes up in smoke. But, never mind, it is just a "distraction."
Global warming is still an unquestionable truth.
14 Responses to “Frog Deaths Not Related To Global Warming”
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March 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Dr.Wirenut sez : Global warming is the major reason that motorcycles have no doors . A lessor known but accurate theory , still unaddressed by the scientific community at large . Where’s the outrage .
March 26th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
That frog on the bottom-right uses the same eye shadow as Nancy Pelosi.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
“That frog on the bottom-right uses the same eye shadow as Nancy Pelosi.”
For just a second I thought it was Tammy Fay Baker on acid.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Well that would help explain the lack of frogs , if that’s what she uses to apply the eye shadow with .
So much canvass , so few frogs .
March 26th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
lol
Garlic may cut cow flatulence:
(Gas produced by sheep also being measured)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/6288012.stm
Guess who the green nuts will target next? heh
Gore’s guru disagreed
Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post Published: Saturday, April 28, 2007
While Gore in the late 1980s was becoming a prominent politician, loudly warning of globalwarming dangers, Dr. Revelle was quietly warning against taking any drastic action.
http://www.nationalpost.com/ne.....6e&p=2
March 26th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I say we tap that methane as an alternative energy source. Remember the old gas station commercial, “Put a tiger in your tank”? How about a cow, or a sheep? Al Gore, maybe? We’re talking some major flatulence here!
March 26th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Does a Iranian head of state in my snow-blower make my carbon footprint smaller ?
March 26th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
No, but it might turn your snow-blower into a manure spreader. ;-}
March 26th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
JohnMG , I’ve got a big yard .
March 26th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Petra says….. “Garlic may cut cow flatulence:…..”
Does this mean environmentalists are in favor of eating more Italian food if this works on humans? If so, I’m going green…uh….red, white and green with extra cheese.
Great posts folks. I had to pick myself up off the floor to type this. LMAO!
March 27th, 2008 at 2:45 am
So if we all pass gas in the winter time will the Groundhog see his shadow sooner?!?
March 27th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
They’re at it again
WRAL & AP:
Yes, you read that right. Duke Energy is building ONE plant to replace Four older, less efficient coal fired plants and the whacko’s are screaming bloody murder.
Wouldn’t you think they would be happy to have one efficient plant replace four outdated plants? Not the environmentalist whackos. They want you and I to freeze in the dark.
I think they’ve got a little mercury poisoning already.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:13 am
Tinfoil hat . Check .
Kool-aid canteen . Check .
Mercury laden compact fluorescent . Check .
Ready to protest progress . Check.
Can’t play my video games in my parents basement , because they finally want rent . Wait a minute !
March 28th, 2008 at 3:48 am
John, I thought it WAS Nancy Piglosei.
Couldn’t we just call it Gorebal Warming instead? Kinda makes more sense.