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.

Between 1970 and 2005, the data showed that the number of amphibians had declined by about 75%, which supported the idea that frogs were being wiped out by the chytrid fungus. However, the data also showed a similar fall in the area’s reptiles, which were not susceptible to the fungus. Over the same period, the data showed that there had been a 75% reduction in the density of leaves falling to the ground from the rainforest’s canopy.

Leaf litter provides a vital habitat, offering food and shelter, for the amphibians and lizards.

Read (BBC)