Assessment of Level of Pesticide use and their Likely Impact on the Amphibian Populations in a Rural Agro-Ecosystem of Kashmir

Amphibians are among the planet’s most important and unique group of vertebrates, containing over 6,400 known species. Amphibians (frogs, salamanders, caecilians) are diverse group of animals that occur throughout the world and reach their greatest diversity in tropical regions. They are important components of aquatic habitats and form an integral part of their ecosystems affecting nutrient cycling and also serving as high quality prey for many species. Amphibians occupy an important position in ecosystems, being both as predator and prey. They have a unique life style requiring both aquatic and terrestrial habitats and act as important bio-monitors and bio-indicators of ecosystem health. Amphibians play diverse roles in natural ecosystems and their decline may cause other species to become threatened or may undermine aspects of ecosystem functions (While et al., 2006). Recently population size of many amphibian species has experienced declines on all six continents and in some cases extinction of amphibians has occurred. Although localized die-offs of amphibians were recorded before 1970, major declines were documented in temperate areas beginning in the 1970’s and mass mortalities of amphibians in tropics have been described more recently. Many declines and extinctions have also occurred in protected wilderness areas as national parks and reserves were no obvious cause was identified (Lips, 1998; Pounds and Crump, 1994).