What is the conservation status of the dyeing poison dart frog?

What is the conservation status of the dyeing poison dart frog?

• A. It is not threatened and has a large range.
• B. The dyeing poison dart frog is extremely vulnerable to extinction because its territory covers less than 0.2 square miles of forest in Colombia.
• C. It is invasive in other continents.
• D. It is extinct in the wild but exists in captivity.

Answer: (B)

Having a very small geographic range makes a species extremely vulnerable to extinction. When a population is confined to a tiny patch of habitat, like less than 0.2 square miles of forest in Colombia, any threat—deforestation, climate shifts, pollution, disease, or a natural disaster—can wipe out its entire home at once. With so little space, the population is small and isolated, which reduces genetic diversity and makes it harder to rebound after losses. In short, that tiny area means the species has almost nowhere else to go, so its risk of disappearing rises dramatically.