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Originally published in Science Express on 14 October 2004
Science 3 December 2004:
Vol. 306. no. 5702, pp. 1783 - 1786
DOI: 10.1126/science.1103538
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Reports

Status and Trends of Amphibian Declines and Extinctions Worldwide

Simon N. Stuart,1* Janice S. Chanson,1 Neil A. Cox,1 Bruce E. Young,2 Ana S. L. Rodrigues,3 Debra L. Fischman,3 Robert W. Waller3

The first global assessment of amphibians provides new context for the well-publicized phenomenon of amphibian declines. Amphibians are more threatened and are declining more rapidly than either birds or mammals. Although many declines are due to habitat loss and overutilization, other, unidentified processes threaten 48% of rapidly declining species and are driving species most quickly to extinction. Declines are nonrandom in terms of species' ecological preferences, geographic ranges, and taxonomic associations and are most prevalent among Neotropical montane, stream-associated species. The lack of conservation remedies for these poorly understood declines means that hundreds of amphibian species now face extinction.

1 IUCN Species Survival Commission/Conservation International Center for Applied Biodiversity Science Biodiversity Assessment Unit, 1919 M Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036, USA.
2 NatureServe, Apartado 75-5655, Monteverde, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
3 Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, 1919 M Street N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: s.stuart{at}conservation.org

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