The chytrid fungus, B. dendrobatidis, now threatens over 50% of the 6,000 known amphibian species with extinction. Little is known about the sudden outbreak of the fungus or how to treat infected populations. Conservationists such as Jeff Corwin, Sir David Attenborough, and Clemson’s own Patrick McMillan are purposing that captive breeding programs are, perhaps, the only way to ensure that the world’s amphibian species survive.

Over half of the world’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction from an infection with the chytrid fungus, B. dendrobatidis. It is reported that 150 species have already gone extinct and 500 more species will follow the same fate unless some kind of intervention takes place. Aware of these frightening statistics, naturalists such as Jeff Corwin and Sir David Attenborough have called 2008 “The Year of the Frog,” and are using their celebrity status to bring attention to the very real amphibian extinction crisis.

The Amphibian Ark Organization is soliciting zoos and other conservation facilities to institute captive breeding programs that would ensure the survival of the world’s amphibians. Such “arks” are already in place, even regionally, at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, and Clemson University is funding a breeding program for Darwin’s frog in Chile, which is to be featured on an upcoming episode of Expeditions with Patrick McMillan. Therefore if the chytrid fungus epidemic proves to be as devastating as trends foretell, amphibians such as this gray tree frog, might be forced to become the “Adam” or “Eve” of its species.