Quantitative evidence for global amphibian population declines

Houlahan, Jeff E.; Findlay, C. Scott; Schmidt, Benedikt R.; Meyer, Andrea; Kuzmin, Sergius L.

doi:10.1038/35008052

Cited by 1,079 publications

(719 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…A recent analysis documented the decline in amphibian populations over the last several decades and also showed that the phenomenon exists on a global scale (Houlahan et al, 2000). Despite the fact that malformations appear to occur at scales that would not contribute significantly to population declines (Carey, 2000) the increased malformation prevalence and declining populations are occurring in the same time frame, which may be more than coincidental.…”

Section: Malformation and Declining Amphibian Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Skeletal and Eye Malformations in Frogs From North-Central United States: Estimations Based on Collections From Randomly Selected Sites

Schoff

Johnson

Schotthoefer

et al. 2003

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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Skeletal malformation rates for several frog species were determined in a set of randomly selected wetlands in the north-central USA over three consecutive years. In 1998, 62 sites yielded 389 metamorphic frogs, nine (2.3%) of which had skeletal or eye malformations. A subset of the original sites was surveyed in the following 2 yr. In 1999, 1,085 metamorphic frogs were collected from 36 sites and 17 (1.6%) had skeletal or eye malformations, while in 2000, examination of 1,131 metamorphs yielded 16 (1.4%) with skeletal or eye malformations. Hindlimb malformations predominated in all three years, but other abnormalities, involving forelimb, eye, and pelvis were also found. Northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) constituted the majority of collected metamorphs as well as most of the malformed specimens. However, malformations were also noted in mink frogs (R. septentrionalis), wood frogs (R. sylvatica), and gray tree frogs (Hyla spp.). The malformed specimens were found in clustered sites in all three years but the cluster locations were not the same in any year. The malformation rates reported here are higher than the 0.3% rate determined for metamorphic frogs collected from similar sites in Minnesota in the 1960s, and thus, appear to represent an elevation of an earlier baseline malformation rate.

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Section: Malformation and Declining Amphibian Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Skeletal and Eye Malformations in Frogs From North-Central United States: Estimations Based on Collections From Randomly Selected Sites

Schoff

Johnson

Schotthoefer

et al. 2003

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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“…A better understanding of temporal and spatial variation in their community structure is crucial for their long-term conservation (Houlahan et al 2000;Marsh and Trenham 2001;Stuart et al 2004). There is a growing evidence on the role of intensive human land use in their global decline and the importance of maintaining connectivity between the aquatic and terrestrial habitat patches in the landscape (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metacommunity dynamics of amphibians in years with differing rainfall

Péntek

Vad

Zsuga³

et al. 2016

Aquat Ecol

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Many studies investigated the habitat preference and behaviour ecology of individual amphibian species while we know less about how their community assembly reflects changes in environmental factors, including the role of climatic extremes. Communitylevel studies also allow us to apply trait-based analyses that are crucial for a better understanding of the functioning of amphibian communities and metacommunities. In two years with contrasting rainfall (2012 and 2013), we found amphibian species in 85 different waterbodies of a heterogeneous landscape in Central Europe (Hungary). Within the metacommunity framework, the contributions of local, landscape and spatial variables to community assembly were assessed. We also measured the local extinction-colonisation rates in the ponds for all species between the two years. To investigate the role of dispersal traits in explaining the spatial distribution of species, we studied the relationship between body size and the pure spatial fraction of variation. According to our results, the main drivers were the same in both the dry and wet year, but their relative contribution changed. Local variables played a predominant role in the assembly of the amphibian metacommunity. Spatial signals were more evident in the dry year. This implies not only the adverse effect of decreased connectivity due to the drying out of several habitats but also a loss of breeding sites for the studied amphibians. Local colonisation rates were higher in primarily terrestrial species (Hyla arborea, Pelobates fuscus, Bufo bufo) which only visit ponds during breeding. We found a negative relationship between the pure spatial effect and body size, suggesting an increased level of dispersal limitation in small-bodied species. Our results showed that while the strength and relative role of local and spatial processes changed between years, the role of dispersal traits in explaining the spatial distribution of species was similar. Specialisation to different habitats seems to be a major process in determining vertebrate metacommunities in landscapes. Dispersal traits of different species should be taken more into consideration in the practical conservation of amphibian habitats.

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“…Pondbreeding amphibians provide especially good study systems for examining the effects of aquatic breeding habitats on population parameters, because breeding ponds have quantifiable features and often demarcate discrete yearly cohorts of breeding populations. Additionally, amphibians are facing local and global declines (Fisher and Shaffer 1996;Houlahan et al 2000;Collins and Storfer 2003;Stuart et al 2004) and are often sensitive to anthropogenic habitat alteration (Guerry and Hunter 2002;Zamudio and Wieczorek 2007). Thus, studies linking breeding habitat and population persistence may play a critical role in conservation and management strategies (Gibbs 1998;Guerry and Hunter 2002;Funk et al 2005;Rittenhouse and Semlitsch 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective population size is strongly correlated with breeding pond size in the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense

Wang

Johnson

et al. 2011

Conserv Genet

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Maintaining genetic diversity and population viability in endangered and threatened species is a primary concern of conservation biology. Genetic diversity depends on population connectivity and effective population size (N e ), both of which are often compromised in endangered taxa. While the importance of population connectivity and gene flow has been well studied, investigating effective population sizes in natural systems has received far less attention. However, N e plays a prominent role in the maintenance of genetic diversity, the prevention of inbreeding depression, and in determining the probability of population persistence. In this study, we examined the relationship between breeding pond characteristics and N e in the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense. We sampled 203 individuals from 10 breeding ponds on a local landscape, and used 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci to quantify genetic structure, gene flow, and effective population sizes. We also measured the areas of each pond using satellite imagery and classified ponds as either hydrologically-modified perennial ponds or naturally occurring vernal pools, the latter of which constitute the natural breeding habitat for A. californiense. We found no correlation between pond area and heterozygosity or allelic diversity, but we identified a strong positive relationship between breeding pond area and N e , particularly for vernal pools. Our results provide some of the first empirical evidence that variation in breeding habitat can be associated with differences in N e and suggest that a more complete understanding of the environmental features that influence N e is an important component of conservation genetics and management.

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Quantitative evidence for global amphibian population declines

Cited by 1,079 publications

References 25 publications

Prevalence of Skeletal and Eye Malformations in Frogs From North-Central United States: Estimations Based on Collections From Randomly Selected Sites

Prevalence of Skeletal and Eye Malformations in Frogs From North-Central United States: Estimations Based on Collections From Randomly Selected Sites

Metacommunity dynamics of amphibians in years with differing rainfall

Effective population size is strongly correlated with breeding pond size in the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense

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