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Declining Amphibians Active

By Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center November 6, 2017

Amphibian populations world-wide are declining for reasons that include disease, habitat loss, and invasive species. Our research addresses these threats as part of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), a nationwide, federally funded program. We work with resource managers to provide information that improves understanding of status of amphibians and the implications of management options.

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

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Herpetological research at the USGS FRESC

Herpetological Research Team (FRESC)

The Herpetological Research Team focuses on issues related to conservation and management of amphibians and other aquatic and semi-aquatic species. Among our current studies are effects of invasive species, disease, and land use change on the dynamics of amphibian communities to inform conservation and management decision making.
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Ecosystems, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Herpetological Research Team (FRESC)

The Herpetological Research Team focuses on issues related to conservation and management of amphibians and other aquatic and semi-aquatic species. Among our current studies are effects of invasive species, disease, and land use change on the dynamics of amphibian communities to inform conservation and management decision making.
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If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

Terrestrial salamander captures after the 2003 Clark Fire, Willamette National Forest, OR

Data are the result of fixed-area, time-constrained searches for terrestrial salamanders within and nearby a wildfire-affected area of the Willamette National Forest, OR. The spatial extent of the study was within one kilometer of the border of the Clark fire that burned an area of 2,009 ha in 2003. Site surveys occurred during March and April, 2005. An important feature of the data is that 100m2
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana boylii) Monitoring and Assessment Data from the Trinity River, California (2013-2017)

A key objective of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) is maintaining and enhancing other wildlife populations through the restoration initiatives. For herpetological species, the foothill yellow-legged frog and western pond turtle have been identified as important species on which to focus monitoring efforts due to their status as California state-listed Species of Concern. As a result,
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

Filter Total Items: 47

Late season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) in a large reservoir in Oregon, USA

Dam-created reservoirs are common landscape features that can provide habitat for amphibians, but their water level fluctuations and nonnative predators can differ markedly from more natural habitats. We compared fall movement and habitat use by the Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) in the reservoir pool with nearby river and pond habitats at Crane Prairie Reservoir in central Oregon, USA. Movem
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Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

An updated assessment of status and trend in the distribution of the Cascades frog (Rana cascadae) in Oregon, USA

Conservation efforts need reliable information concerning the status of a species and their trends to help identify which species are in most need of assistance. We completed a comparative evaluation of the occurrence of breeding for Cascades Frog (Rana cascadae), an amphibian that is being considered for federal protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Specifically, in 2018–2019 we resur
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Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Demography of the Oregon spotted frog along a hydrologically modified river

Altered flow regimes can contribute to dissociation between life history strategies and environmental conditions, leading to reduced persistence reported for many wildlife populations inhabiting regulated rivers. The Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) is a threatened species occurring in floodplains, ponds, and wetlands in the Pacific Northwest with a core range in Oregon, USA. All life stages of
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Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Enhanced between-site biosecurity to minimize herpetofaunal disease-causing pathogen transmission

Pathogens and their associated diseases have the potential to severely affect wildlife populations, including herpetofauna. Concern is increasing for transmission pathways of herpetofaunal diseases, especially for amphibians affected by the fungal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd: Longcore et al. 1999) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal: Martel et al. 2013), and amphibians and reptiles affe
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Ecosystems, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) not detected in an intensive survey of wild North American amphibians

The salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans [Bsal]) is causing massive mortality of salamanders in Europe. The potential for spread via international trade into North America and the high diversity of salamanders has catalyzed concern about Bsal in the U.S. Surveillance programs for invading pathogens must initially meet challenges that include low rates of occurrence on the l
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Estimation of metademographic rates and landscape connectivity for a conservation-reliant anuran

ContextAmphibian conservation efforts commonly assume populations are tied to waterbodies that collectively function as a metapopulation. This assumption is rarely evaluated, and there is a need to understand the degree of connectivity among patches to appropriately define, manage, and conserve biological populations.ObjectivesOur objectives were to quantify local persistence, colonization, and re
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Ecosystems, Cooperative Research Units, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Amphibian chytrid prevalence on boreal toads in SE Alaska and NW British Columbia: Tests of habitat, life stages, and temporal trends

Tracking and understanding variation in pathogens such as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ([Bd]), which causes amphibian chytridiomycosis and has caused population declines globally, is a priority for many land managers. However, there has been relatively little sampling of amphibian communities at high latitudes. We used skin swabs collected during 2005–2017 from boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas; N =
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Ecosystems, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Batrachochytrium salamandriovrans (Bsal) in Appalachia—Using scenario building to proactively prepare for a wildlife disease outbreak caused by an invasive amphibian chytrid fungus

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), a pathogenic chytrid fungus, is nonnative to the United States and poses a disease threat to vulnerable amphibian hosts. The Bsal fungus may lead to increases in threatened, endangered, and sensitive status listings at State, Tribal, and Federal levels, resulting in financial costs associated with implementing the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The United
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Ecosystems, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program

Effect of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) on apparent survival of frogs and toads in the western USA

Despite increasing interest in determining the population-level effects of emerging infectious diseases on wildlife, estimating effects of disease on survival rates remains difficult. Even for a well-studied disease such as amphibian chytridiomycosis (caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]), there are few estimates of how survival of wild hosts is affected. We applied hierarchica
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Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease (unpublished), Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Conservation research across scales in a national program: How to be relevant to local management yet general at the same time

Successfully addressing complex conservation problems requires attention to pattern and process at multiple spatial scales. This is challenging from a logistical and organizational perspective. In response to indications of worldwide declines in amphibian populations, the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) of the United States Geological Survey was established in 2000. This nation
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Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center

Compounding effects of climate change reduce population viability of a montane amphibian

Anthropogenic climate change presents challenges and opportunities to the growth, reproduction, and survival of individuals throughout their life cycles. Demographic compensation among life‐history stages has the potential to buffer populations from decline, but alternatively, compounding negative effects can lead to accelerated population decline and extinction. In montane ecosystems of the U.S.
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Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines

A research priority can be defined as a knowledge gap that, if resolved, identifies the optimal course of conservation action. We (a group of geographically distributed and multidisciplinary research scientists) used tools from nominal group theory and decision analysis to collaboratively identify and prioritize information needs within the context of disease-associated amphibian decline, in order
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Ecosystems, Water Resources, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center