A Framework for Guiding Management Decisions for Amphibians in an Uncertain Future

Amphibians are a group of animals facing especially severe declines due to many factors including climate change and a common pathogen, the amphibian chytrid fungus. To make informed decisions about amphibians, wildlife managers need to identify species facing the greatest threats and the actions that will most effectively minimize impacts of those threats. Although some amphibian species are relatively well-studied, for most, data to inform management decisions are lacking. Therefore, tools to assist managers must be applicable to amphibian species across a range of data availability and susceptibility to climate change and other threats.



In this project, researchers will determine which amphibians in the North Central region of the United States are at the greatest risk from the anticipated effects of climate change and other threats, such as disease. They will develop a decision framework for weighing tradeoffs among potential management actions and the anticipated impacts of those actions using both a data-deficient species and a species that is relatively data-rich, the Boreal Toad. This project will then use long-term monitoring information to develop a web application to guide management decisions for Boreal Toads, which are susceptible to amphibian chytrid fungus, likely to be affected by climate change, and are a species of concern for several states in the region.



By coordinating with wildlife managers early in the development process, researchers will incorporate feedback from those who will actually use the products of this research and evaluate the effects of potential actions on amphibian populations. Thus, the results of this research will equip managers to make the most informed decisions for amphibian conservation across the North Central region of the United States.