 A general decline in living amphibian species has been linked with the fungal disease chytridiomycosis . A higher proportion of salamander species than of frogs or caecilians are in one of the at @-@ risk categories established by the IUCN . Salamanders showed a significant diminution in numbers in the last few decades of the 20th century , although no direct link between the fungus and the population decline has yet been found . The IUCN made further efforts in 2005 as they established the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan ( ACAP ) , which was subsequently followed by Amphibian Ark ( AArk ) , Amphibian Specialist Group ( ASG ) , and finally the umbrella organization known as the Amphibian Survival Alliance ( ASA ) . Researchers also cite deforestation , resulting in fragmentation of suitable habitats , and climate change as possible contributory factors . Species such as Pseudoeurycea brunnata and Pseudoeurycea goebeli that had been abundant in the cloud forests of Guatemala and Mexico during the 1970s were found by 2009 to be rare . However , few data have been gathered on population sizes over the years , and by intensive surveying of historic and suitable new locations , it has been possible to locate individuals of other species such as Parvimolge townsendi , which had been thought to be extinct . Currently , the major lines of defense for the conservation of Salamanders includes both in situ and ex situ conservation methods.There are efforts in place for certain members of the Salamander family to be conserved under a conservation breeding program ( CBP ) but it is important to note that there should be research done ahead of time to determine if the Salamander species is actually going to value from the CBP , as researchers have noted that some species of amphibians completely fail in this environment . 
