Habitat Alteration/Loss Agriculture, Housing Developments, Urban Sprawl Disease Chytridiomycosis, Trematode Worms Climate Change Increased UV Radiation Pollution Herbicides, Insecticides, Fertilizers, Chemical Contaminants Nonindigenous Species Pet Trade Tiger salamanders, Axolotl’s, Pipid Frogs, Poison Dart Frogs, Red-eyed Tree Frogs Causes of Amphibian Decline

They are particularly sensitive to environmental change Important bio-indicators of environmental degradation Permeable skin makes them particularly susceptible to contaminants They are sensitive to land-use changes Lab specimens are used to study genetics, cellular function, and development They are cool animals! 32% of amphibian species are threatened with extinction 43% of amphibian species are in population decline Why Are Amphibians Important? content/uploads/2010/02/BB- Japanese-Giant- Salamander.jpg Japanese_Giant_Salamander-SPL.jpg?id=

Their breeding-grounds have historically been filled in for more profitable enterprises Disneyworld, Agriculture, Forestry Amphibians have Complicated Lifestyles Typically, the larval phase occurs in water, and the adult the phase occurs terrestrially Little protection from Predators in large waterbodies ISOLATED WETLANDS PROVIDE PREDATOR-FREE REPRODUCTIVE GROUNDS Challenges Amphibians Face

Small Constructed Isolated Wetlands in Most State Parks Everglades National Park ACE Basin Old rice fields restored into SC DNR managed wetlands Phinizy Swamp Collects Augusta’s storm-water and purifies it before it reaches the Savannah River Tuolumne River Floodplain Meadow Communities Invasion of lodgepole pines into palustrine wetlands Ramsar Sites International wetland sites heavily managed for restoration of natural species compositions Restoration Projects

Most state parks create isolated wetlands as breeding-grounds for amphibians Isolated wetlands are not protected under the Clean Water Act NO FEDERAL PROTECTION Small Isolated Wetland Restorations

US Forest Service Borrow Pit Photo courtesy of Joanna Hawley, MS Wildlife and Fisheries Biology

Amphibians. (2002). Retrieved from Blaustein, A. R., & Johnson, P. T. (2003). The complexity of deformed amphibians. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 1(2) Blaustein, A. R., & Kiesecker, J. M. (2002). Complexity in conservation: lessons from the global decline of amphibian populations. Ecological Letters, (5) Conservation International, Center for Applied Biodiversity Science. (2004). Global amphibian assessment Washington, DC: Conservation International. Flink, S. (2007). Wetlands international: ramsar sites information service. Retrieved from National Geographic: Wild Chronicles, (2009). Giant Japanese Salamanders [Web]. Available from Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web] Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved from Lips., K. R., Brem, F., Brenes, R., Reeve, J. D., & Alford, R. A. (2006). Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a neotropical amphibian community. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(9), Retrieved from doi: http:// Relyea, R. A. (2005). The impact of insecticides and herbicides on the biodiversity and productivity of aquatic communities. Ecological Applications, 15(2), Retrieved from Weldon, C., Preez, L. H., Hyatt, A. D., & Speare, R. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Emerging Infectious Diseases. (2004). Origin of the amphibian chytrid fungus Whigham, D. F. (1999). Ecological issues related to wetland preservation, restoration, creation, and assessment. The Science of the Total Environment, (240), Retrieved from 1P&_user=590719&_coverDate=10%2F18%2F1999&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway& _sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C &_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=590719&md5=192e cd8a33b92bd3a9675ed339dd90d5&searchtype=a Literature Cited