Animal Species Under Threat

Around the world, numerous species of animals and plants are going extinct, leading many scientists to speculate we're now in an historic era of mass extinctions. Many of the die-offs can be blamed on human activity and climate change, but some stand out both for their dramatic nature and the uncertainty of their cause.

Among the top species suffering from massive die-offs or disappearances, either worldwide or locally:

1. Bees. Researchers are still trying to find the answer to why large populations of bees simply vanish from their hives. Known as colony collapse disorder (CCD), the mysterious malady has affected bee populations across numerous U.S. states, as well as in Europe. Just this week, the ice-cream maker Häagen-Dazs announced it was granting $250,000 to researchers to study CCD. The reason? The company says almost 40 percent of its ice-cream flavors rely on crops that are pollinated by bees.

2. Frogs. A chytrid fungus is causing frogs and other amphibians around the world to die from an infection known as chytridiomycosis. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no12/03-0804.htm) calls the infection one of the biggest threats to amphibian populations across the globe. Scientists believe the disease threatens nearly one-third of Earth's amphibians.

3. Bats. A malady known as white-nose syndrome is killing tens of thousands of bats across the Northeastern U.S. The condition is marked by an area of white fungus around the infected bat's nose. Researchers aren't sure how the disease is spread, but it's already been found in almost every major bat hibernation cave in the state of New York.