'Fewer leaves' behind frog demise (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

A decline in the amount of leaves on the ground could be behind the rapid demise of frog species, a study of a rainforest in Costa Rica has suggested.

Until now, the prime suspect for the amphibians' population crash was a deadly fungal infection.

By studying data over a 35-year period, researchers found that lizards, which were not susceptible to the infection, had also declined by a similar rate.

The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Writing in the paper, the team said the global decline of amphibian populations ranked "among the most critical issues in conservation biology".
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6564329.stm