| Biodiversity loss is one of the key environmental problems of our century. Amphibian population declines are a notable case of species loss because amphibians survived the last four major extinction events in global history. Their current rate of extinction is among the highest of any taxonomic groups, and many of their population declines remain unexplained. In order to better manage and prevent future biodiversity loss we need to better understand the drivers of population dynamics. The goal of this research project was to identify factors that influence population parameters including recruitment, survival, abundance, and population growth rate for eleven amphibian species in temperate, high elevation wet meadows or tropical cloud forests. Here I present evidence for the roles of several factors in amphibian declines, including non-native species, hydrologic dynamics, and forest disturbance. |
