As frog populations decline worldwide a new study claims that even species living in protected areas are falling in numbers.
US and Costa Rican scientists tested the theory that fungal infection is one of the main reasons why populations are in decline.
They analysed population data from the past 35 years on frogs living in protected, old-growth rainforest in Costa Rica.
Changes in the populations of lizards were also studied to compare the effects on fungal infection.
Over the 35-year period, the researchers found that both amphibian and reptile populations declined by 75 per cent. This, they claim, suggests that the fungus could not be responsible.
"Instead, our data suggest that declines are driven by climate-driven reductions in quantity of standing leaf litter, a critical microhabitat for amphibians and reptiles in this assemblage," the scientists write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
They conclude that their findings "raise further concerns" for amphibian populations that should be taken into account by scientists.
"Our data indicate that even populations of amphibians for which specific threats have not been identified may nonetheless be suffering dramatic decline, and that such populations may be considered stable because of lack of long-term data, not lack of threats."
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