Next month he will head to Washington DC as chief scientist of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Amphibian Survival Alliance to help thrash out a global strategy for threatened amphibians.
Asked if he thought the recently published research, led by Christian Hof and published in the Nature journal, was too pessimistic, Dr Bishop said he did not believe it was possible to be overly pessimistic.
Computer modelling in the research suggested that in about 70 years no part of the world would be immune from fungal disease, climate change and shrinking habitat. Frogs seemed to have the worst outlook.
Dr Bishop said of the 7000 species of amphibians throughout the world, at least 3000 were threatened with extinction.
People would be "up in arms" if similar proportions of mammals or birds faced the same threat, he said.
The rate of change was too fast for frogs to be able to evolve to cope.
The week-long Washington meeting, which will involve about 10 international leaders in amphibian conservation, will try to reach a consensus.
Dr Bishop, who is a senior lecturer at the University of Otago's department of zoology, accepts that will be "pretty difficult", but all were committed to the task.
The meeting follows an amphibian conservation action plan of about five years ago which outlined what was needed, but progress had been slow because there was difficulty in agreeing on what was most important.
Major fundraisers would be needed because the conservation would come with a "very costly price tag".
Zoos would need to come on board to help the thousand species which could only be saved by breeding in captivity.
He was hopeful the strategy would be able to be released "almost immediately" after the meeting - "frogs can't wait".
It would then be a matter of getting "some major fundraisers on board" to help save amphibians throughout the world, he said.
Why is saving frogs important?
• They have an important role in medical research, including in areas such as antibiotics, HIV, spinal cords and pain killers - one frog which could turn off its gastric juices could have been helpful in stomach cancer research, but that opportunity has been lost because it is extinct.
• They are a vital link in the food chain, affecting the lives of birds, mammals and insects.
What should people do to help frog populations?
• They should not mess up their environment generally.
• Not use damaging sprays in the garden.
• Preserve water quality and treat water as a precious resource.
- Amphibian Survival Alliance chief scientist Dr Phil Bishop
