Steps towards better amphibian conservation

Schmidt, Benedikt R.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2008.00222.x

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Our review highlights that, overall, many North American amphibians respond negatively to urbanization; however, more information is required (e.g., regional species-specific responses to urbanization) before conservation practitioners have the necessary information needed to solve regional conservation problems effectively (Gilioli et al 2008;Schmidt 2008). Models that consider the many constraints that exist in real life conservation practice are needed (e.g., limited space in urban environments), as such constraints make many solutions impossible (Schmidt 2008).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Models that consider the many constraints that exist in real life conservation practice are needed (e.g., limited space in urban environments), as such constraints make many solutions impossible (Schmidt 2008). Interfacing urban metrics with the complex life cycle of amphibians by including multiple life-history stages will likely yield valuable information regarding the negative impacts of urban development on amphibian populations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of urbanization on North American amphibian species: Identifying new directions for urban conservation

Scheffers

Paszkowski

2011

Urban Ecosyst

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Urbanization is a pervasive and growing threat to amphibian populations globally. Although the number of studies is increasing, many aspects of basic amphibian biology have not been investigated in urban settings. We reviewed 32 urban studies from North America and quantified the number of species studied and their response to urbanization. We examined existing research on breeding habitats, life-history stages, movement patterns, and habitat use relative to urbanization. We found amphibians as a whole respond negatively to urbanization (69 reported responses were negative, 6 were positive and 35 showed no effect). We caution, however, that many North American species still lack or are associated with conflicting information regarding species-specific responses (e.g., 89 potential responses were unknown). Approximately 40% of all anuran and 14% of caudate species in North America were investigated in the literature; however, the most diverse genera (e.g., Plethodon and Eurycea) were the most understudied likely due to their cryptic terrestrial lifestyles and biases in sampling protocols that assess wetland habitats via call surveys. Research on movement and small scale habitat use was deficient. Adult, juvenile, tadpole, and egg mass life-history stages commonly served as direct measures of species presence and abundance; however, such data do not accurately reflect recruitment into subsequent age classes and population persistence. The lack of data on many North American species may be contributing to poor management of urban amphibian populations and their habitats.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of urbanization on North American amphibian species: Identifying new directions for urban conservation

Scheffers

Paszkowski

2011

Urban Ecosyst

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“…Just how these processes are influenced by salamander richness and relative abundances (Schmidt 2008) are as yet unknown. Nonetheless, the huge numbers of woodland salamanders found across forest ecosystems of North America (see Introduction) suggest an ecological dominance in trophic webs in these forests, (e.g., Terbough and Estes 2010); one that influences leaf litter decomposition and forest-floor carbon pathways (Wyman 1998) and comprises an enormous prey base for other fauna (e.g., Brodie 1980, Ducey andBrodie 1983).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woodland salamanders as metrics of forest ecosystem recovery: a case study from California's redwoods

Welsh

Hodgson

2013

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Woodland (Plethodontid) salamanders occur in huge numbers in healthy forests in North America where the abundances of many species vary along successional gradients. Their high numbers and trophic role as predators on shredder and decomposer arthropods influence nutrient and carbon pathways at the leaf litter/soil interface. Their extreme niche conservatism and low vagility offer further advantages to the use of these salamanders as metrics of forest ecosystem condition. Mill Creek is a 103 km 2 commercially logged redwood forest watershed acquired as parkland where original primary forest is being restored. This study evaluated woodland salamanders as metrics of seral recovery at Mill Creek. Surface counts and body condition were examined in four sets of stands, two early seral, one mature, and one of primary forest (never harvested old-growth). Later seral sites were closer to the coast where fog increased available moisture; younger sites were further inland at higher elevations where fog was reduced. We distinguished the effects of geography and succession using ANCOVA with a PCA-derived landscape covariate. Both geography and succession increased counts of California Slender Salamanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus); advancing succession alone indicated increased counts of Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii ). Means and variances in body condition of these two species were lower in older stands; for the Del Norte salamander (Plethodon elongatus) only the means were lower. Coastal proximity increased mean body condition in E. eschscholtzii, but with P. elongatus it was the opposite. We modeled surface counts and body condition along environmental gradients associated with succession. The counts and body condition in two of three species when taken together suggested that the increased structural complexity in late-seral forest stands supported larger populations that appeared to be competing for limited resources and, thus, likely have greater population fitness than those in younger forests. B. attenuatus and E. eschscholtzii proved to be viable metrics of advancing succession with their numbers and body condition providing readily quantifiable measures of ecosystem recovery at Mill Creek.

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“…While headwater amphibians are often present in low numbers following harvest, their failure to recover to densities found in nearby reference streams up to six decades post-harvest [90] illustrates the flaw in accepting occupancy or abundance data only from young and/or re-grown forests as valid evidence of recovered populations. Occupancy data in particular are of little value when investigating population status; what are needed are measures of relative abundance [91] or density data from streams on commercial forestry landscapes that can be compared with similarly derived data from streams on appropriate reference stands (e.g., nearby undisturbed late-seral forest) [92] (e.g., [47,48,82]). Only by comparing data from the entire seral continuum inclusive of late-seral reference sites can one establish baseline values for these species that approximate the population levels likely to maintain ecological functionality (e.g., [93,94]).…”

Section: Conclusion-conserving Vital Network Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frogs, Fish and Forestry: An Integrated Watershed Network Paradigm Conserves Biodiversity and Ecological Services

Welsh

2011

Diversity

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Successfully addressing the multitude of stresses influencing forest catchments, their native biota, and the vital ecological services they provide humanity will require adapting an integrated view that incorporates the full range of natural and anthropogenic disturbances acting on these landscapes and their embedded fluvial networks. The concepts of dendritic networks, disturbance domains, the stream continuum, and hydrologic connectivity can facilitate this integration. Managing catchments based on these combined concepts would better maintain all the components of watersheds and the interacting processes that comprise their ecological integrity. To examine these ideas, I review riparian protection regulations in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, regulations considered by many to be among the best available, and evaluate their ability to protect headwater amphibians. I present evidence for the inadequacy of these rules to maintain robust populations of these amphibians, and discuss the implications of these shortcomings for downstream-dwelling coho salmon. Emphasizing headwaters (1st to 3rd-order channels), I discuss disturbance regimes and how differences in their fluvial and geomorphic processes determine the structuring of channels, their internal environments, and the composition of the resident biota. I examine amphibian dependence on specific channel attributes, and discuss links between their abundances, altered attribute states, and natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Using these examples, I discuss the limitations of current protections to maintain key attributes necessary to support robust populations of headwater amphibians, and via hydrologic connectivity, many downstream organisms. I propose that the goal of maintaining whole catchment biodiversity and ecological services could be improved by managing watersheds based on integrating science-based network organizing concepts and evaluating and adjusting outcomes with a suite of responsive bio-indicators

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Steps towards better amphibian conservation

Cited by 10 publications

References 30 publications

The effects of urbanization on North American amphibian species: Identifying new directions for urban conservation

The effects of urbanization on North American amphibian species: Identifying new directions for urban conservation

Woodland salamanders as metrics of forest ecosystem recovery: a case study from California's redwoods

Frogs, Fish and Forestry: An Integrated Watershed Network Paradigm Conserves Biodiversity and Ecological Services

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