"The Sixth Extinction" Chapter 1

In Chapter 1 of The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, the author details the significantly growing number of frogs that wind up dead in South America. Initially, many were skeptical about accepting the fact that so many frogs were dying since “Amphibians are, after all, among the planet’s greatest survivors.” (Kolbert, 11) Many believed it would be impossible for them to start dying out because they had survived for such a long time, even since there were dinosaurs. Frogs and toads prominently filled many locations in South America; however, currently, if one would go to them, there would be a minimal number of frogs and toads. As a result, scientists, specifically biologists, were looking for reasons to explain the surprising deaths of these frogs.

There are so many species of frogs that are starting to disappear, which raises questions about the possible prevention of future frog deaths. At first, biologists looked to where they found these species and discovered that it was human-related causes was not probable. This is because the areas also included those that were pristine and unspoiled, such as in mountains and the Sierras. Therefore, biologists looked for other explanations and soon enough, a potential cause came from The National Zoo, found in Washington, D.C. In the National Zoo, some frogs were also starting to die unexpectedly, resulting in the scientists further analyzing those dead frogs under microscopes. In their findings, the frogs showed “a strange microorganism… identified as a fungus…” (Kolbert, 13) Scientists later classified this fungus as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, otherwise shortly regarded as Bd. To fully support the theory that Bd was the cause of the frog deaths, scientists tested the frogs out by exposing healthy blue poison-dart frogs to the fungus. As a result of this exposure, these frogs winded up dead within a few weeks, which proved that the fungus was the cause of the deaths. Another question arose: Where did the fungus start and how was it spreading so rapidly?

To circumvent future frog deaths, EVACC was an organization created to protect frog species that was endangered. Biologists from EVACC and other scientists worked to supply the reasoning behind how and why the fungus was spreading throughout the world. Notably, Bd can travel through water, such as a stream or in a runoff, making it easy for Bd to move around a large distance quickly. Furthermore, many believe that the shipments of frogs led to the transport of the fungus since these frogs were either experimentally used in the mid-twentieth century or used for human consumption. This fully connects to the theme: “Humans alter natural systems.” If it were not for humans moving organisms between various places, Bd would not have spread easily, nor would it have been exposed to so many species of frogs. People need to keep in mind that when using organisms for experiments, many risks can occur and to avoid diseases from spreading, the frogs should be studied in their place of origin. This should be done before they are transported to avoid the exposure of a fungus to an unfamiliar environment.

This chapter reminds me of a lecture that I received at the Summer Neuroscience Program at Rockefeller University. When visiting the labs at this university, the graduate students informed me that many animals are used for subjects, like mice, crickets, cockroaches, birds, frogs, fruit flies, etc. The professors explained that humans use animals because using humans as subjects are considered mostly unacceptable and unethical. Because scientists cannot receive a “written consent” from animals, they are used for experiments. However, even with the theme of morality, scientists do not have permission to use an organism any way that they want; they should have a clear motive. For example, a few PhD students are dissecting mice brains to learn about the functions of the different areas of the brain since mice brains are like human brains. This is a valid reason because the findings can help to expand the knowledge that people have about how a lesion or a problem with a synapse between neurons can impact only a particular part of the brain, not the brain as a whole. This connects to how frogs were used in the mid-twentieth century because they were transported for pregnancy tests with the usage of urine; however, as opposed to current scientists, those scientists were not aware of the risks that this brought to their surroundings (Bd). The graduates told me that they now must go through a lengthy process with studying their subjects before because of the mistakes many in past experiments in American history.