World Frog Day on March 20 celebrates the role of frogs, the world’s most abundant amphibian. Living at the interface between freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, they feed on insects and in turn are eaten by other vertebrates, and are thus essential for the conversion of insect biomass to vertebrate biomass.
Their loss can mean a boom in plant-eating insects as well as a depleted food base for many terrestrial vertebrates, which can subsequently irreversibly damage both freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Unfortunately for Earth, populations of frogs and other amphibians have been declining worldwide since the 1980s. In 2023 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Global Amphibian Assessment Report he said 37 species have become extinct and continue to decline, making them the most endangered group of vertebrates.
The most significant historical driver of amphibian decline was chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Bactrachochytrium salamandrivorans in frogs and salamanders. The disease affects their skin, the organ that protects them while allowing them to breathe and exchange ions to maintain electrolyte balance. In the past two decades, it has affected more than 60% of amphibians worldwide – although intensive monitoring and conservation efforts have reduced the risk of extinction for 63 species and halved the impact.
Today is however the most important drivers extinctions are climate change for 39% of species and habitat loss for 37%.
Indian scene
India is home to more than 450 species of amphibians, and about a quarter of them are classified as “endangered” and one-fifth as “data deficient”. The fungal burden of B. dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans in India is significant but has not caused the mass mortality of frogs in America and Australia.
B. dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans have roots in Asia and have spread throughout the world through the trade in frog legs and salamanders as pets. In 1987, after Humayun Abdul Ali of the Bombay Natural History Society published a scientific report emphasizing their role in controlling agricultural pests, the trade was banned. By then, however, frog and salamander populations were significantly affected as B. dendrobatidis spread from Asia to Europe, the Americas and Australia.
The situation in India itself is quite unique. Until 2015, scientists were unsure of the status of B. dendrobatidis; a diagnostic test did not appear until 2023. This means that while scientists in the country have not documented mass extinctions, they have also not found that amphibians have improved over the past two decades. Because they lack long-term follow-up data for any species, it is difficult to determine causes.
In fact, India hosts a significant proportion of the world’s “data deficient” amphibian species. And of India’s 157 endangered species, only six are protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972.
Climate change in India also poses a serious challenge. One well-known consequence is the mismatch between the seasons and the natural rhythms of plants and animals. So a false indication of an early monsoon followed by an extended dry spell can result in disastrous breeding results. At the same time, due to the lack of long-term data sets on the availability of surface water and amphibian populations in the region, scientists are also unable to predict the effects of climate change on them.
Time to care
Monsoons arrive predictably on Indian shores every year and are synonymous with frog choruses, when adult males call out for a mate. Females mate with several males and lay their eggs in the water. The intensity of the breeding frenzy then quickly subsides as some latecomers and early breeders are allowed to start breeding. Although not all adult amphibians reproduce successfully each year, the intensity increases the population’s chances of survival.
Breeding activity is focused on the production of many tadpoles, which then feed on the lush growth of algae in water bodies and grow rapidly. They metamorphose into small frogs and hop around on the ground. At this stage, many lose because they become prey to animals. Due to their short lifespan, the timing of their complex rearing with rain and the availability of surface water in streams and pools is critical.
Other important conservation efforts include the establishment of a salamander sanctuary in Jorepokhri, West Bengal in 1985 (although it does not currently support a breeding population), the University Grants Commission banned the dissection of frogs for educational purposes in 2011; and ongoing conservation breeding program for Himalayan salamanders at the Padmaja Naidu Zoo in Darjeeling.
Pathways to participation
There have also been more success stories recently. They include Mapping the Malabar Tree Toad Projecta citizen science project coordinated by KV Gururaja in the Western Ghats; and Amphibian Recovery Project by S. Harikrishnan of the Wildlife Trust of India in Munnar, Kerala, with Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company Pvt. Ltd.; and a Himalayan salamander conservation project led by Barkha Subba, in which she engaged local residents in habitat conservation. The CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (where the authors are employed) also runs a long-term program for monitoring brook frogs in collaboration with the Maharashtra State Forest Department at Tillari Conservation Reserve.
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoo and Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad also prominently display amphibians in their animal collection and spread awareness among visitors. The number of young professionals implementing conservation programs is also growing.
For a nation that embodies its conservation values in its constitution, citizens have many ways to get involved: for example, one can take a few minutes of their time to record their calls or take ethical photos of healthy and sick frogs and share them on citizen science portals like iNaturalist. Such efforts will help us overcome several charismatic species such as tigers and pandas.
Monsoon will arrive in a few months and we should play our part in protecting amphibians.
Karthikeyan Vasudevan is a Senior Scientist at CSIR-Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. He is a herpetologist who deals with the ecology of amphibian diseases.
Published – 19 March 2026 08:00 IST
