Ecological Traits Predicting Amphibian Population Declines in Central America

Conservation Biology - Tập 17 Số 4 - Trang 1078-1088 - 2003
Karen R. Lips1, John D. Reeve1, Lani R. Witters1
1Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901–6501, U.S.A.

Tóm tắt

Abstract: Amphibian populations are declining on all continents on which they occur, but not all species have been affected equally. Populations of some species are extirpated, others have declined but survive, some have not obviously declined, and some are increasing. If amphibian populations at multiple sites were affected by the same factors, then surviving species should share traits that promote persistence, whereas declining species should share traits that promote susceptibility. Identifying these traits can help diagnose potential causes and thus help to direct conservation actions. Using logistic regression, we quantified the vulnerability of amphibian populations in four areas in Central America. We analyzed a species‐specific database of taxonomic identity, geographic and elevational range, elevational distribution, adult and larval habitat, activity period, and maximum adult body size. We found that ( 1 ) all four sites exhibited the same pattern of decline ( there were no interactions between site and other variables ); ( 2 ) declining populations shared aquatic habitats, restricted elevational ranges, and large body sizes; and ( 3 ) there was an interaction between body size and elevational range. The most significant variable in the model was lifetime aquatic index, a factor unrelated to demographic vulnerability and one that therefore might indicate the potential causative agent( s ). Our results provide a predictive model with which to assess potential causes of population declines in other areas, and we generated a list of 52 species predicted to decline at a currently unaffected site in central Panama.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Addames A. J., 1977, Evaluación ambiental y efectos del proyecto hidroelectrico Fortuna., Revista Loteria, 254, 1

10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.015004930.x

10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.30.1.133

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1995.09010143.x

10.1111/j.1523-1739.1990.tb00107.x

10.1098/rspb.1997.0057

10.1073/pnas.95.15.9031

10.1111/j.1558-5646.1990.tb04310.x

10.1098/rstb.1994.0048

10.1073/pnas.91.5.1791

10.1086/282738

Campbell J. A., 1998, Amphibians and reptiles of northern Guatemala, the Yucatan and Belize

Campbell J. A., 1999, Patterns of distribution of amphibians: a global perspective, 111

10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.015004903.x

10.1017/S026646740000955X

Clark K. L., 2000, 2000. Monteverde: ecology and conservation of a tropical cloud forest, 15

10.5962/bhl.title.16171

Crump M. L., 1974, Reproductive strategies in a tropical anuran community

10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[1450:WTOSPP]2.0.CO;2

10.2307/1565579

10.56021/9780801861154

Duellman W. E., 2001, Hylid frogs of middle America

10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00416.x

Environmental Systems Research Institute, 1993, Digital chart of the world ( CD‐ROM cartographic database )

10.1086/303149

10.2307/1937460

Harries P. J., 1996, Biotic recovery from mass extinction events, 42

Hildebrand S. F., 1938, A new catalogue of the fresh‐water fishes of Panama., Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, 22, 219

Holdridge L., 1982, Life zone ecology

10.1002/0471722146

10.1038/35008052

10.1007/978-3-642-70831-2_17

10.1098/rstb.1994.0045

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.98324.x

Joglar R. L., 1998, Los coquíes de Puerto Rico: su historia natural y conservación

10.1038/35070552

10.1126/science.3420403

Laurance W. F., 1991, Evolutionary correlates of extinction proneness in Australian tropical rainforest mammals., Conservation Biology, 5, 79, 10.1111/j.1523-1739.1991.tb00390.x

Lessa E. P., 1996, Reassessment of extinction patterns among the late Pleistocene mammals of South America., Paleontology, 39, 651

Lips K. R., 1995, The population biology of Hyla calypsa, a stream‐breeding treefrog from lower Central America

10.1111/j.1523-1739.1998.96359.x

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.97185.x

10.1007/s004420100687

10.1670/0022-1511(2003)037[0215:CIWFFS]2.0.CO;2

10.2307/1941608

Martínez V., 1984, Investigación preliminar de los anfibios ( Salientia ) de Quebrada de Arena y areas adyacentes: listado anotado., Revista Natura, 4, 30

McCranie J. R., 2002, The amphibians of Honduras. 19

10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.28.1.495

10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.015004914.x

10.1093/oso/9780195095609.001.0001

10.1126/science.278.5338.692

10.1086/284889

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010072.x

Pounds J. A., 2000, Monteverde: ecology and conservation of a tropical cloud forest, 537

10.1046/j.1523-1739.1997.95485.x

10.1038/19297

Puschendorf R., 2003, Atelopus varius ( Harlequin frog ) Fungal infection., Herpetological Review.

Rabinowitz D., 1986, Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity, 182

10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.02283.x

SAS Institute, 2000, JMP 4.02

Savage J. M., 2002, The amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica: a herpetofauna between two continents, between two seas

10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00556.x

Tabachnick B. G., 2001, Using multivariate statistics

10.1016/0003-3472(77)90118-X

10.1098/rspb.1998.0336

10.1111/j.1523-1739.2001.00218.x

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Conservation Biology

Tập 17 Số 4

1078-1088

Thông tin tác giả