Editing Holocene extinction (section)

===Disease===
{{See also|Decline in amphibian populations|White nose syndrome|Colony collapse disorder|Pesticide toxicity to bees}}
[[File:Bufo periglenes2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[golden toad]] of Costa Rica, extinct since around 1989. Its disappearance has been attributed to a confluence of several factors, including [[El Niño]] warming, fungus, habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259639291|first1=L.|last1= Ochoa-Ochoa|first2=R. J.|last2=Whittaker|first3=R. J.|last3=Ladle|year=2013|title=The demise of the golden toad and the creation of a climate change icon species|journal=Conservation and Society|volume=11|issue=3|pages=291–319|doi=10.4103/0972-4923.121034|doi-access=free}}</ref>]]
[[File:Ecnomiohyla rabborum.jpg|thumb|left|[[Toughie (frog)|Toughie]], the last [[Ecnomiohyla rabborum|Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog]], died in September 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hance |first=Jeremy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/oct/27/rabbs-fringe-limbed-treefrog-frog-amphibians-extinct-extinction-media |title=Frog goes extinct, media yawns |work=The Guardian |date=27 October 2016}}</ref> The species was killed off by the [[Chytridiomycota|chytrid fungus]] ''[[Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis]]''<ref>{{Cite iucn|author=Mendelson, J.R.|author2=Angulo, A.|title=''Ecnomiohyla rabborum''|volume=2009 |page=e.T158613A5241303|date=2009|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T158613A5241303.en|access-date=27 December 2017}}</ref>]]
The decline of amphibian populations has also been identified as an indicator of environmental degradation. As well as habitat loss, introduced predators and pollution, [[Chytridiomycosis]], a fungal infection accidentally spread by human travel,<ref name="Kolbert-2014" /> globalization, and the wildlife trade, has caused severe population drops of over 500 amphibian species, and perhaps 90 extinctions,<ref name="Scheele2019">{{cite journal|last1=Scheele|first1=Ben C.|display-authors=etal.|date=March 29, 2019|title=Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=363|issue=6434|pages=1459–1463|doi=10.1126/science.aav0379|pmid=30923224|hdl=1885/160196|s2cid=85565860|url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10069937/1/Garner_Scheele-et_al-Science_2019_Amphibian%20fungal%20panzootic%20causes%20catastrophic%20and%20ongoing%20loss%20of%20biodiversity.pdf|bibcode=2019Sci...363.1459S|access-date=June 27, 2019|archive-date=April 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427121913/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10069937/1/Garner_Scheele-et_al-Science_2019_Amphibian%20fungal%20panzootic%20causes%20catastrophic%20and%20ongoing%20loss%20of%20biodiversity.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> including (among many others) the extinction of the [[golden toad]] in Costa Rica, the [[Gastric-brooding frog]] in Australia, the [[Rabb's Fringe-limbed Treefrog]] and the extinction of the [[Panamanian golden frog]] in the wild. Chytrid fungus has spread across Australia, New Zealand, Central America and Africa, including countries with high amphibian diversity such as [[cloud forest]]s in [[Honduras]] and [[Madagascar]]. ''[[Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans]]'' is a similar infection currently threatening [[salamander]]s. Amphibians are now the most endangered vertebrate group, having existed for more than 300 million years through three other [[mass extinction]]s.<ref name="Kolbert-2014"/>{{rp|17}}

Millions of bats in the US have been dying off since 2012 due to a fungal infection known as [[white-nose syndrome]] that spread from European bats, who appear to be immune. Population drops have been as great as 90% within five years, and extinction of at least one bat species is predicted. There is currently no form of treatment, and such declines have been described as "unprecedented" in bat evolutionary history by Alan Hicks of the [[New York State Department of Environmental Conservation]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Blehert |first1=D. S.|last2=Hicks |first2=A. C.|last3=Behr |first3=M. |last4=Meteyer |first4=C. U.|last5=Berlowski-Zier |first5=B. M. |last6=Buckles |first6=E. L. |last7=Coleman |first7=J. T. H. |last8=Darling |first8=S. R. |last9=Gargas |first9=A. |last10=Niver |first10=R.|last11=Okoniewski |first11=J. C.|last12=Rudd |first12=R. J. |last13=Stone |first13=W. B. |title=Bat White-Nose Syndrome: An Emerging Fungal Pathogen?|journal=Science|date=9 January 2009 |volume=323|issue=5911|pages=227|doi=10.1126/science.1163874|pmid=18974316|bibcode=2009Sci...323..227B |s2cid=23869393}}</ref>

Between 2007 and 2013, over ten million beehives were abandoned due to [[colony collapse disorder]], which causes [[worker bee]]s to abandon the [[queen bee|queen]].<ref>{{cite news |author1=Benjamin, A. |author2=Holpuch, A. |author3=Spencer, R. |newspaper=The Guardian |year=2013 |access-date=21 August 2015 |title=Buzzfeeds: The effects of colony collapse disorder and other bee news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/30/buzzfeeds-bees-colony-collapse-disorder |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905094423/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/30/buzzfeeds-bees-colony-collapse-disorder |url-status=live }}</ref> Though no single cause has gained widespread acceptance by the scientific community, proposals include infections with ''[[Varroa]]'' and [[Acarapis woodi|''Acarapis'']] [[mite]]s; [[malnutrition]]; various [[pathogen]]s; [[genetics|genetic factors]]; [[immunodeficiency|immunodeficiencies]]; [[habitat destruction|loss of habitat]]; changing [[beekeeping]] practices; or a combination of factors.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.3news.co.nz/Multiple-causes-for-colony-collapse---report/tabid/1160/articleID/296401/Default.aspx|work= 3 News NZ|title= Multiple causes for colony collapse – report|date= 3 May 2013|access-date= 3 May 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191137/http://www.3news.co.nz/Multiple-causes-for-colony-collapse---report/tabid/1160/articleID/296401/Default.aspx|archive-date= 29 October 2013|url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name=Cepero2014>{{cite journal|last1=Cepero|first1=Almudena|last2=Ravoet|first2=Jorgen|last3=Gómez-Moracho|first3=Tamara|last4=Bernal|first4=José Luis|last5=Del Nozal|first5=Maria J.|last6=Bartolomé |first6=Carolina|last7=Maside|first7=Xulio|last8=Meana|first8=Aránzazu|last9=González-Porto |first9=Amelia V.|last10=de Graaf|first10=Dirk C.|last11=Martín-Hernández|first11=Raquel|last12=Higes |first12=Mariano|title=Holistic screening of collapsing honey bee colonies in Spain: a case study |journal=BMC Research Notes|date=15 September 2014|volume=7|pages=649|doi=10.1186/1756-0500-7-649 |pmid=25223634|pmc=4180541|issn=1756-0500 |doi-access=free }}</ref>