Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

A dataset of amphibian species in U.S. National Parks

January 4, 2024

National parks and other protected areas are important for preserving landscapes and biodiversity worldwide. An essential component of the mission of the United States (U.S.) National Park Service (NPS) requires understanding and maintaining accurate inventories of species on protected lands. We describe a new, national-scale synthesis of amphibian species occurrence in the NPS system. Many park units have a list of amphibian species observed within their borders compiled from various sources and available publicly through the NPSpecies platform. However, many of the observations in NPSpecies remain unverified and the lists are often outdated. We updated the amphibian dataset for each park unit by collating old and new park-level records and had them verified by regional experts. The new dataset contains occurrence records for 292 of the 424 NPS units and includes updated taxonomy, international and state conservation rankings, hyperlinks to a supporting reference for each record, specific notes, and related fields which can be used to better understand and manage amphibian biodiversity within a single park or group of parks.

Publication Year 2024
Title A dataset of amphibian species in U.S. National Parks
DOI 10.1038/s41597-023-02836-2
Authors Benjamin Lafrance, Andrew M. Ray, Robert N. Fisher, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Charles Shafer, David Beamer, Stephen Frank Spear, Todd W Pierson, Jon M. Davenport, Matthew L. Niemiller, R. Alexander Pyron, Brad Glorioso, William Barichivich, Brian J. Halstead, Kory Roberts, Blake R. Hossack
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Scientific Data
Index ID 70251070
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center; Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; Western Ecological Research Center; Wetland and Aquatic Research Center