Frogs outlived the dinosaurs, but they may not outlive humans, as I learned in this CNN report on dwindling amphibian populations — and the extinction of entire species.

The thread that connects the mass deaths is a fungus that destroys their skin. Global warming makes them more susceptible to the fatal fungus. Another culprit is suburban sprawl.

“Insect populations would balloon if you take the amphibians out of the occasion. So we better get used to mosquitoes,” one researcher warns. And that means higher instances of mosquito-born disease, such as the West Nile virus.