In Chapter 1, Kolbert introduces the readers to the idea that humans are both causing and living through the sixth major mass extinction- which has been defined in the book as a period of time where the biodiversity of life on earth has suddenly and/or drastically plummeted. This chapter discusses the clue most scientists point towards when proving another one of these extinctions is occurring- the disappearance of amphibians across the globe. The amphibians are among the most diverse and enduring of any kind- they have evolved to all forms of climate and predator, and have survived one of the major extinctions- the Cretaceous–Tertiary event. Nevertheless, carcasses of dead frogs- one most prominently focused on in the book being the golden Panamanian frog- shows despite the stripes they have gained in terms of natural selection, they are dropping like flies.
And humans are causing it. Through trade, the introduction of an invasive species of fungi have been eliminating them off in astonishing numbers. In page 18, Kolbert states, “Without being loaded by someone onto a boat or plane, it would have been impossible for a frog carrying BD [fungus killing amphibians] to get from Africa to Australia or from North America to Europe. This sort of intercontinental reshuffling nowadays we find totally unremarkable, is probably unprecedented in the three and a half billion year history of life.” This connects to the APES theme of Humans Altering Natural Systems. The threat of an entire animal family would not be occurring had not for the advancements in traveling, trading, and connecting to other parts of the world so carelessly. In the small village in Panama, the Panamanian golden frog were a sign of good luck. Now their silent disappearance may forever be written in history as the first warning of what lies ahead. And we are the cause of it.
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