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Next Science Pub, February 11, 2013, 6-8 p.m.

Old World Deli, 341 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis

Extinction in Our Time: Why should we care if frogs disappear?

SPEAKER: ANDREW BLAUSTEIN, PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY, DIRECTOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES GRADUATE PROGRAM, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Red Eye Frogs in Monteverde, Costa Rica. "We are undergoing an unprecedented extinction event in our time right now where amphibians, many populations throughout the world, are disappearing." — Andrew Blaustein (Photo: Clearly Ambiguous)

With dramatic population declines and extinctions worldwide, amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders and newts) are among the most threatened animals on the planet. Habitat loss, climate change, disease and pollution have well-documented impacts. “Amphibians are embedded in culture and religion and are ecologically important,” says Blaustein. “They may aid humans medically and are interesting to observe for their own sake. Their loss would be devastating in so many ways.”

Blaustein is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the board of directors of the Amphibian Conservation Alliance. While his lab focuses on the Pacific Northwest, it has also been active in the tropics. See a brief interview with Blaustein on Science Central.

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