Amphibian Population Declines and Climate Change

2011 ◽  
pp. 29-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Blaustein ◽  
Catherine Searle ◽  
Betsy Bancroft ◽  
Joshua Lawler
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Amphibian Population

scholarly journals Interacting effects of cold snaps, rain, and agriculture on the fledging success of a declining aerial insectivore

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Roy Garrett ◽  
Fanie Pelletier ◽  
Dany Garant ◽  
Marc Bélisle
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Tree Swallow ◽  
Landscape Changes ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Fledging Success ◽  
Inclement Weather ◽  
Aerial Insectivore

Climate change predicts the increased frequency, duration, and intensity of inclement weather periods, such as unseasonably low temperatures and prolonged precipitation. Many migratory species have advanced the phenology of important life history stages, and as a result are likely exposed to these periods of inclement spring weather more often, thus risking reduced fitness and population growth. For declining avian species, including aerial insectivores, anthropogenic landscape changes such as agricultural intensification are another driver of population declines. These landscape changes may affect the foraging ability of food provisioning parents, as well as reduce the probability a nestling will survive periods of inclement weather, through for example pesticide exposure impairing thermoregulation and punctual anorexia. Breeding in agro-intensive landscapes may thus exacerbate the negative effects of inclement weather under climate change. We used daily temperatures related to significant reductions of insect prey availability (cold snaps), combined with measures of precipitation, and assessed their impact on Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) fledging success, a declining aerial insectivore breeding across a gradient of agricultural intensification. Fledging success decreased with the number of cold snap days experienced by a brood, and this relationship was worsened during periods of prolonged precipitation. We further found the overall negative effects of experiencing periods of inclement weather are exacerbated in more agro-intensive landscapes. Our results indicate that two of the primary hypothesized drivers of many avian population declines may interact to further increase the rate of declines in certain landscape contexts.

Acidic deposition as an unlikely cause for amphibian population declines in the Sierra Nevada, California

1994 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Bradford ◽  
Malcolm S. Gordon ◽  
Dale F. Johnson ◽  
Russel D. Andrews ◽  
W.Bryan Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Acidic Deposition ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Amphibian Population

scholarly journals Commentary: Unravelling the mechanisms linking climate change, agriculture and avian population declines

Ibis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES W. PEARCE-HIGGINS ◽  
JENNIFER A. GILL
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Population Declines

scholarly journals Can Topographic Variation in Climate Buffer against Climate Change-Induced Population Declines in Northern Forest Birds?

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimo Virkkala ◽  
Juha Aalto ◽  
Risto K. Heikkinen ◽  
Ari Rajasärkkä ◽  
Saija Kuusela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Temperature Variation ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Forest Birds ◽  
Local Temperature ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Northern Forest ◽  
Bird Density ◽  
Topographic Variation

Increased attention is being paid to the ecological drivers and conservation measures which could mitigate climate change-induced pressures for species survival, potentially helping populations to remain in their present-day locations longer. One important buffering mechanism against climate change may be provided by the heterogeneity in topography and consequent local climate conditions. However, the buffering capacity of this topoclimate has so far been insufficiently studied based on empirical survey data across multiple sites and species. Here, we studied whether the fine-grained air temperature variation of protected areas (PAs) affects the population changes of declining northern forest bird species. Importantly to our study, in PAs harmful land use, such as logging, is not allowed, enabling the detection of the effects of temperature buffering, even at relatively moderate levels of topographic variation. Our survey data from 129 PAs located in the boreal zone in Finland show that the density of northern forest species was higher in topographically heterogeneous PAs than in topographically more homogeneous PAs. Moreover, local temperature variation had a significant effect on the density change of northern forest birds from 1981–1999 to 2000–2017, indicating that change in bird density was generally smaller in PAs with higher topographic variation. Thus, we found a clear buffering effect stemming from the local temperature variation of PAs in the population trends of northern forest birds.

Cryptic and cumulative impacts on the wintering habitat of the endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor) risk its long-term viability

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVAN J. PICKETT ◽  
MELANIE CHAN ◽  
WENDA CHENG ◽  
JOHN ALLCOCK ◽  
SIMBA CHAN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Population Change ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Population Viability Analysis ◽  
Cumulative Impacts ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Waterbird Species

SUMMARYThe East Asian–Australasian flyway contains some of the most threatened habitats in the world, with at least 155 waterbird species reliant on the tidal habitats it comprises. The black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor) is an iconic endangered species distributed across the coast of East Asia. Its population suffered a severe decline into the 1990s, but extensive monitoring and conservation interventions have aided a substantial recovery of the species. We used a population viability analysis based on data collected over the past two decades in conjunction with species distribution models to project spatially explicit models of population change for the next 35 years. Over nearly all scenarios of habitat loss and climate change, the global spoonbill population was projected to increase in the short-term due to low population numbers likely well below current population carrying capacities. However, climate change and habitat loss together threaten the recovery of the spoonbill population such that, by 2050, population declines are apparent as a consequence of these cumulative impacts. These threats are also cryptic and represent a challenge to the conservation of species recovering from anthropogenic impacts; observed population increases can hide large reductions in habitat suitability that threaten the long-term viability of species.

The complexity of amphibian population declines: understanding the role of cofactors in driving amphibian losses

2011 ◽  
Vol 1223 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Blaustein ◽  
Barbara A. Han ◽  
Rick A. Relyea ◽  
Pieter T.J. Johnson ◽  
Julia C. Buck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Declines ◽  
Amphibian Population

The effects of amphibian population declines on the structure and function of Neotropical stream ecosystems

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt R. Whiles ◽  
Karen R. Lips ◽  
Cathy M. Pringle ◽  
Susan S. Kilham ◽  
Rebecca J. Bixby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structure And Function ◽  
Stream Ecosystems ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Amphibian Population ◽  
Neotropical Stream ◽  
And Function

scholarly journals A global threats overview for Numeniini populations: synthesising expert knowledge for a group of declining migratory birds

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES W. PEARCE-HIGGINS ◽  
DANIEL J. BROWN ◽  
DAVID J. T. DOUGLAS ◽  
JOSÉ A. ALVES ◽  
MARIAGRAZIA BELLIO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Expert Assessment ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Policy Responses

SummaryThe Numeniini is a tribe of 13 wader species (Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes) of which seven are Near Threatened or globally threatened, including two Critically Endangered. To help inform conservation management and policy responses, we present the results of an expert assessment of the threats that members of this taxonomic group face across migratory flyways. Most threats are increasing in intensity, particularly in non-breeding areas, where habitat loss resulting from residential and commercial development, aquaculture, mining, transport, disturbance, problematic invasive species, pollution and climate change were regarded as having the greatest detrimental impact. Fewer threats (mining, disturbance, problematic native species and climate change) were identified as widely affecting breeding areas. Numeniini populations face the greatest number of non-breeding threats in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, especially those associated with coastal reclamation; related threats were also identified across the Central and Atlantic Americas, and East Atlantic flyways. Threats on the breeding grounds were greatest in Central and Atlantic Americas, East Atlantic and West Asian flyways. Three priority actions were associated with monitoring and research: to monitor breeding population trends (which for species breeding in remote areas may best be achieved through surveys at key non-breeding sites), to deploy tracking technologies to identify migratory connectivity, and to monitor land-cover change across breeding and non-breeding areas. Two priority actions were focused on conservation and policy responses: to identify and effectively protect key non-breeding sites across all flyways (particularly in the East Asian- Australasian Flyway), and to implement successful conservation interventions at a sufficient scale across human-dominated landscapes for species’ recovery to be achieved. If implemented urgently, these measures in combination have the potential to alter the current population declines of many Numeniini species and provide a template for the conservation of other groups of threatened species.

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