The Sixth Extinction Chapter 1 - Elyonni Tordesillas

        Throughout Chapter 1 of  The Sixth Extinction , Kolbert introduces the reader to a Panamanian town of El Valle de Anton. She explains how the the town is located within a massive volcanic crater. She then introduces the reader to an extremely common species of frog that lived in El Valle. The Panamanian Golden Frog became a staple in the community. Unfortunately, the Golden Frogs had begun to disappear suddenly in large numbers. Kolbert was so struck by the mass extinction of the species, she flew to Panama to research what had been going on. The disappearance of these frogs was seen as a crisis since amphibians are some of nature’s most resilient animals, capable of surviving in many different environments. "Amphibians are, after all, among the planets greatest survivors." The fact that the Golden Frogs were dying off so quickly caused others to believe that was was wiping them out was extremely dangerous. Kolbert later learns that an unidentified fungus called Bactrachochytrium dendrobatidis had spread to El Valle, and was responsible for the mass extinction of these frogs. Many people believe that the fungus had spread due to humans. Kolbert states "...African clawed frogs do not seem to be adversely affected by Bd, though they are widely infected with it...Without being loaded by someone onto a boat or a plane, it would have been impossible for a frog carrying Bd to get from Africa to Australia or North America to Europe."  Humans travel around the world, taking new diseases, fungi, and animals with them wherever they go. As Kolbert shows, humans are interfering with the natural equilibrium of the Earth, accelerating the process of mass extinction.