– Mary Davidson Graham, Assistant Executive Director & Calah Beckwith, Press & Grant Writer
Illustrations by Mal Muratori, VINS Environmental Educator
Amphibians are incredibly sensitive to environmental changes, and they not only provide valuable ecosystem services, but they also provide information about how an ecosystem is functioning. Tadpoles are able to help maintain clean water by feeding on the algae that would otherwise negatively impact water, ecosystem, and human health.
Amphibians have a huge influence on many other species, as both predator and prey. They eat agricultural insect pests as well as mosquitos, both of which are hugely beneficial to humans. More salamander species live in the United States than any other place in the world, and when they disappear, the environment changes dramatically.