In the opening chapter author Elizabeth Kolbert introduces an ongoing crisis in the Panamanian town of El Valle de Anton. Various species of frogs were very common in Panama until recently when golden frogs specifically began to disappear rapidly. Kolbert works with Edgardo Griffth, the director of El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC), to seek answers to what is causing the extinction rate of the frogs to increase. In testing samples taken from dead frogs, they found that Chytrid Fungi was the culprit of the frogs sickenings. It is revealed that the population of frogs across the world was depleting in areas from South America, Europe and Australia. A theory behind this is that the Chytrid fungi is spreading to other parts of the world through the shipment of amphibians leaving South America that are infected with the fungi but do not present signs of being affected. On page 17 of the chapter it states “Probably one amphibian species should go extinct every thousand years or so.” Kolbert then describes how her and Griffith have “observed several amphibian extinctions.” This situation relates to the theme that natural systems change overtime and space because what was then believed to be a natural process for the population of these amphibians has changed as the chytrid fungi continues to wipe out amphibian species faster than the time suggested by scientists. EVACC’s main purpose has been to try and conserve these amphibians until they can be set free again which poses as a struggle at that time.
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