The Monteverde cloud forest provided the only known habitat for the extinct golden toad which, along with the harlequin frog and 20 other amphibious species, became extinct around 1986-87. This coincided with a major El Niñoevent when climatic conditions in Costa Rica were particularly warm and dry.”
Mike and Nicola maintain that “future climate change is likely to exacerbate this situation with more frequent dry winters and warmer temperatures. By the 2050s, ‘dry’ winters will become up to twice as frequent and ‘warm’ winters will occur in between 50 and 100 per cent of years. This is likely to lead to many more periods during future winter dry seasons when clouds will be less prevalent over the mountain forests, thus seriously damaging this unique mountain habitat for amphibians and cloud-forest lizard species.”
Many species that are unable to adapt to the changes human are inflicting on the Earth, and are facing extinction. In fact, predictions estimate that up to 1 million species may become extinct as a result of climate change. The extinct Golden Toad and rapid demise of the Harlequin Frog are examples of how humans are significantly reducing Earth’s biodiversity.
References: Hulme,M. and Sheard,N. (1999) Climate Change Scenarios for Mesoamerica Climatic Research Unit, Norwich, UK, 6pp.
Britton, H. (2005) The Extinction of the Golden Toad FINAL, Symptom of a Worldwide Crisis, http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/fieldcourses05/ PapersCostaRicaArticles/TheExtinctionoftheGoldenT.html